Fate Interrupted
by Blue Eyed Ducky
Summary: One drunk night leaves Bella pregnant at 18. With Edward and his family moving across the country for school, she decides to not tell him and raises the baby by herself. Ten years later Edward moves back home and gets the shock of his life. Will it be HEA? Or will Bella's lie keep them from becoming a true family?
1. Smiley Face

**A/N: So, after reading so many wonderful stories, I've decided to try my hand at writing. I used to write short stories and such back in high school, but it's definitely been a while, so PLEASE be gentle! ****That being said, enjoy and I'll see you at the bottom!**

**Jenny**

* * *

><p>Ten Years Earlier:<p>

Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, I was frozen in shock. Desperately wishing the stupid little piece of plastic in my hand would just disappear, I tried to make my eyes shut but they wouldn't. The happy little face on the screen just kept staring back at me. Visions of College and living on my own for the first time faded, as newer more scary thoughts took over. Me, overly pregnant, people staring and whispering as I walked past, being stuck in this god forsaken town for the rest of my life. Living in some run down apartment and working my ass off for minimum wage. The visual alone was enough to snap me out of my frozen state, right there I vowed I would do whatever it took to provide for my child along with still getting my education. My mind drifted towards the father, but came to an abrupt halt. I had no way to contact him. The reason I'm in the situation I'm in, is because we both got drunk off our asses at his graduation party/going away party.

Six weeks prior:

I got talked into going to Edward Cullen's graduation party. We weren't what anyone would consider to be best friends, but when you practically grow up with someone, there is some type of bond. With Edward being the Cullen's youngest child, the oldest being Emmett, They decided they didn't want to be on the other side of the country from there children. So after Edward got accepted to Columbia, where Emmett also attends, his father put in for a transfer to New York Presbyterian Hospital. Edward and Emmett both were following in there father's footsteps and becoming Doctors.

With graduation done and over with his parents flew to New York to get everything set up leaving Edward here to end his high school career with a huge party. I wasn't going to go but my best friend, Alice all but begged me to. She was going because her long time boyfriend, Jasper Whitlock is best friends with Edward. According to Alice this was _the _party to attend, everyone was going to be there. I honestly didn't care, noisy parties and people sweating and grinding up on each other all night wasn't really my thing.

The party was fine at first. We were hanging out and drinking. I must have not noticed how much I was drinking because two hours into the party I was drunk. I guess that happens when you have several members of the male population pressing big red cups into your hand, just hoping that particular one will be the one to make you completely loose any inhibitions you have left. I don't really remember much of what happened the rest of the night.

The next morning…or maybe it was afternoon, when I woke up I noticed I was naked, and in Edward's bed. His leg and arm were draped around me. As quietly and quickly as I could, I slid out from under him, surprisingly, I didn't face plant on the floor. I hurried and put my clothes on then left. I didn't want Edward to wake up and notice that he slept with me. While we might have known each other our whole lives, we were clearly in two separate classes. Edward's family was old money, and if that wasn't enough he was a complete Greek God. Girls threw themselves at him daily and he ate it all up. I don't know if he ever slept with any of them, living in a small town, you can't really rely on what you hear. I however was completely opposite. I was average height and had a small build with brown hair and brown eyes. Not to mention my father was a public servant. I was not girlfriend material for Edward Cullen, hell I wasn't even fuck buddy material. I was saving him an awkward and embarrassing moment when he woke up and realized just who it was he had slept with last night. Luckily it didn't take me long to walk home, one of the only advantages of living in a small town. It was easy to get home without being noticed. I slipped back into my house without Charlie figuring out that I hadn't come home that night.

A month and a half goes by. I've been throwing up every morning for the past week. At first I didn't think about it much. I thought it was just the flu. It wasn't until I saw my calendar out of the corner of my eye that I thought it could be more then just being sick. I didn't even want to imagine the possibility, but at the same time I needed to know. I hopped into my truck and booked it to Port Angeles to get a test. No way was I going to even think about buying one in Forks. If this turns out to be negative, that's all I need is to have some nosy house wife telling my father, the Police Chief that his only daughter was buying a preg…a test. Even thinking the word is hard.

Even one city away, I was still looking over my shoulder. Afraid someone I knew from Forks would jump out at me at any second, I grabbed the first test I see and make a bee line for the cashier. After quickly paying for my purchase, I floor it back home. I managed to make it home without incident and without running into anyone I knew.

After stalling for more then an hour, I finally force myself to pee on the damn stick.

A smiley face. Why a smiley face? I see no reason to smile right now. Not only am I going to have to figure what to do about school, I'm going to have to tell my dad. Oh, God. What the fuck am I supposed to do about him? He's going to flip! My parents had me when they were 17, my whole life they drilled into me the importance of waiting until I was married and to always put getting a good education before anything else in life.

After sitting in the bathroom for who knows how long, I decided to call Alice, she always knew what to do.

"Hey Bella," I heard her answer.

"Alice, can you come over right now, I need you." I sobbed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'll tell you when you get here," I told her.

"I'm leaving right now, I'll see you in a few," she said.

Without even saying goodbye I hung up and let the phone drop to the floor.

Five minutes later Alice arrived. Letting herself in like she always does, she found me still in the bathroom with my fist clenched tightly around the test. I looked up when she walked in, holding the test out to her without as much as a sound. Her eyes widened slightly as she took it, she looked down at it then back at me. She did this several times before she tried to say something. I had actually rendered her speechless. I might of found it funny if this situation wasn't so serious. Alice held out her hand and helped me up off the side of the tub. Leading me into my bedroom, we both sat down on the edge of the bed.

"How can you be pregnant?" she asked me.

Rubbing my hands over my face, I answered.

"I never told you this but I slept with Edward," I said to her.

"When?" She asked me.

"At his graduation party," I muttered.

"Oh My God!" she screeched, then in true Alice form she asked, " Was it good?" I could tell she was trying to lighten the mood.

"Alice! What am I going to do?" I asked her.

"Do you want to keep the baby?" she asked.

"I think I do," I told her as I rubbed my stomach.

"Okay, but you might want to visit the doctor soon," she told me.

I nodded at her. I wanted this baby. I don't know why, for some reason I felt like I had to protect him or her somehow. I also felt sad for it. My baby would more then likely never meet his father. I would just make sure to love him more then enough for both parents.

"So are you going to tell Edward about this?" she asked me.

"I don't have his number," I told her.

It was true, I didn't have any way to contact him, but if I tried I'm sure I could find something. The truth was, I was afraid to. We now lived on opposite ends of the country. He'd live his life being the rich doctor, and have the trophy wife on his arm, attending high society functions on the weekends. Besides, why would he believe me? We were both drunk and I ran out before he woke up the next morning. The biggest issue I had was one that I have lived through, my whole life I was shuffled back and forth for every other holiday with my mom. She lived in Jacksonville. I didn't want that for my child. No, I would raise this baby on my own, maybe one day I would marry, then they could have a father figure in there life, but until then, I'd make sure I was enough to cover both roles.

"I'm sure Jasper does, I can have him text it to me," she reached for her phone but I stopped her.

"Ali, please don't, I'll contact him, but I need time. Besides I don't think this is an appropriate conversation for the phone," I said with a slight shake to my voice.

"He has a right to know Bella," she said to me.

"I know that, Alice. However, I refuse to subject my child to having to spend every other holiday away from one of us. I lived through that and I'll be damned if I'm going make my child go through that." I was starting to get angry at this point, I'm not really sure about what though, I think it's finally becoming real. I'm going to be a single parent at 18.

"I think he'd come back here and help you." She said quietly.

Shaking my head, I replied, "All the more reason not to tell him, he's got such a bright future ahead of him, I can't ask him to sacrifice it for me."

Looking down at my hands, I picked at my non-existent nails, "I'll find a way to tell him, someday, but I don't want this to effect both our lives when it doesn't have to. I still want to try and go to college in the fall like planned. And when I have the baby, I'll find a way to still take some classes. I have a full ride scholarship so just as long as I continue to meet the requirements for it, I should be ok."

Bouncing slightly on the bed, Alice seemed to regain her usual spunk, I could almost see the wheels turning in her head." Oh, Bella this will be great! We'll have plenty of room for the baby in our apartment. Oh can I decorate the nursery? We'll have to go look at baby furniture and OMG! Clothes! I can't wait to get clothes for my little niece or nephew!" Her bouncing was getting worse and I was afraid that if she didn't stop soon, I was going to loose what little remained in my stomach.

"Alice, slow down! First, sit still, I feel like we're on a boat and I'm about to get sea sick. Second, we still have plenty of time to think about what the baby will need, I'm only about a month and a half along. First thing I need to do is make a Doctor's appointment. There's no need to plan anything if that test is wrong. Once my doctor confirms everything, then we'll go from there, ok?"

With a slight pout, she nodded slowly. "I know you're right, I'm just so excited! A baby! So, what are you going to do about Charlie?"

Grimacing, I sighed, "I don't know. I'm terrified he's going to go completely nuts. He had that heart attack a few years ago, what if telling him this, makes him have another one? I could just not tell him, we'll be leaving for Seattle in a few weeks. Then…" I stopped because at my last statement, Alice looked at me like my head had just rotated and green shit was now spewing from my mouth.

"Not tell him? Have you completely lost your mind? Say you don't tell him, what happens when you have the kid? Then what? You show up back home with a baby one day. That's supposed to be better for his health?"

I quickly stand up, but stop in my tracks when I see who's standing in the doorway. His face is beet red, he takes a few calming breaths before he speaks, "I think we need to talk."

I followed him downstairs, he pulled out a chair and I sat down. It wasn't until I heard the scrape of the other chair that I dared to look up and, I wished I hadn't, in his hand was the pregnancy test. Fuck. We sat in an awkward silence that seemed to last forever until he finally spoke.

"Who's the father?"

Ducking my head back down so he couldn't see my face I answered, "I don't know."

I don't know why I lied, for some reason I couldn't let Edward get in trouble. I know my dad would be on the first flight to New York if he knew.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

I blushed a deep crimson, how do you explain to your dad, anything having to do with your sex live. Before I could form a response, he jumped back in and said, "I don't need details, I just need to know if you were…" He paused, swallowing thickly, "I need to know if you were raped."

Answering quickly, I said, "NO! Dad I swear it wasn't rape. We were all at a graduation party, and I might have had a drink or two. But I was coherent enough to know it wasn't rape. I don't know who it is because I woke up alone."

Trying to maintain eye contact, I took biting my lip. I hope I had convinced him.

"OK, I believe you. I won't lecture you about underage drinking right now, only because I think you can count this as a lesson learned. Now, what are you going to do about the baby?"

I couldn't believe how calm he was being. I expected screaming and yelling, not a calm rational conversation. My confusion must have been playing across my face because Charlie, spoke again, "There's no use getting angry over this, what's done is done. We just need a game plan. I need to know if you plan on keeping it and what you're going to do about school. I won't lie, I'm disappointed, but you're my only child and I love you." The last three words choked off as my dad tried to gain control over his emotions.

Trying to hold back my own tears, I began to explain what Alice and I had gone over earlier. I don't think he likes the fact that I'll still be about four hours away but Alice is my strongest support system right now and if she's in Seattle then, that's where I need to be.

I woke up around 9 the next morning. After going through my morning routine I called my doctors office to schedule an appointment. Luckily they had an opening later this afternoon. I called Alice as soon as I got off the phone with them. She agreed to go with me; I could almost feel her excitement through the phone. I wish I could share in it, but right now, I have so many other emotions running through me, that if I had anymore I might explode.

Charlie walked through the door around 6:30 that night, I sat on the couch waiting for him. I had called earlier in the day to let him know I had an appointment to confirm the pregnancy.

"Well?" he asked.

All I could do was nod. It didn't take long for the tears to start up again. Not even five seconds later I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. He didn't say anything, he just held me while I cried. I knew everything was going to be ok. It didn't mean I wasn't terrified though.


	2. Edward Returns

**Epov**

I was meeting up with Emmett today. We both had been so busy this past few days with getting our apartments set up, that we needed to catch up. Jasper was also meeting us there. I was glad I decided to move back home, Jasper and I had kind of lost touch over the years, I guess living on opposite ends of the country will do that to you though.

"Edward" I heard Emmett as soon as I walked into the bar. Jasper was there as well, Walking over I shook both there hands. As I sat down, I ordered a Jack and Coke.

"So, how's everything going?" Jasper asked me.

"Good, how about you? How is life, I know we kind of lost touch for a while." I asked him.

"It's been pretty good; Alice and I are still going strong. My nephew Ethan is growing like a weed. Before I know it, he'll be 11." At the mention of his nephew Jasper stopped abruptly.

"Wait. Nephew? You don't have any siblings how could you have a nephew?" I asked confused.

"Well, I guess biologically i'm not his uncle, but Bella doesn't have much family and she and Alice are still real close…" He trailed off; something was off, Jasper seemed almost nervous.

"Bella? You mean Bella Swan? When did she get married?"

Clearing his throat, he responded. "She didn't she's a single mother. Doesn't know who the father is."

I sat there dumbfounded. Bella had a kid? He's almost 11; she must have gotten pregnant right after graduation. That must have been hard; I wonder how she's been all these years. I was just about to ask Jasper some more questions about Bella when, Emmett jumped in.

"I saw Ethan the other day. I'm dating this girl Rose from the hospital and she's best friends with Alice and Bella. I swear if I didn't know better, he could be a miniature version of you, Eddie Boy!" Emmett chuckled. I hated when he called me that. Besides, there's no way Bella's child could look anything like me we've nev…. OH SHIT! We did. I don't remember much from that night, I supposed being drunk, protection didn't even enter our minds.

I must have been sitting there in silence longer then I thought because, I felt a hand on my shoulder slightly shaking me.

"Edward, man are you ok? You look like shit." Jasper was looking at me now with concern, and something else that I couldn't identify.

"I…um…You said that Bella's kid is 10 now?" He nodded.

"You don't know who the father is? She never said who it was?" Again, he nodded.

I know there's something he's not saying. The Jasper I know doesn't act like this. He doesn't get nervous. Taking in a huge breath, he leaned against the bar before speaking.

"Look man, this is something you need to talk to Bella about. I don't want to get into the middle of it. You're both my friends but honestly, this is between the two of you."

He never came out and said it, but it was enough conformation for me. _I possibly have a child. With Bella Swan. I have a son. Jasper said his name was Ethan. I've missed out on 10 years of his life. _With that thought, I became angry. _How dare she keep my son from me. I know I moved away but she could have asked Jasper for my number._ That thought led to another, _Jasper knew, this whole fucking time he knew._ I looked up at him.

"What the fuck? In ten years and the dozens of times we spoke, you couldn't say, _oh by the way I think you may have a child back here in Seattle." _At this point I was out of my chair and pacing.

"She never told us directly it was you. Not that we needed to know, he looks just like you. But I couldn't do that to her. Besides, I had no direct proof that he's yours. Don't go barging out of here to find her though, you're mad, that's understandable. But, you weren't around, so you have no idea the sacrifices she's had to make raising your son. I know why she did it though, I overheard her and Ali talking one night, her intentions were good, but I still think she should of told you. As for why I didn't tell you, it wasn't my place. Bella is just as much my friend as you are and I couldn't betray her like that." He finished, regaining his confidence towards the end. Looking at Jasper now, he seemed almost lighter, like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Sighing, I slumped back into my seat, and pinched the bridge of my nose. "What am I going to do? I can't just show up at her door step and demand to see my kid."

Grabbing his phone from his pocket, I already knew who he was dialing. "Ali, are you by yourself? We need to talk and I can't have Bella around for this conversation. Edward knows. We have no Idea what to do about it though, we need your help. Ok, love you too, bye." Pocketing his phone, he turned to me.

"She said to sit tight and she'd take care of it." Nodding I turn back to my drink and down, it. I'm going to need another one. A quiet had settled over us. I had almost forgotten Emmett was even there until he spoke.

"So, Bella Swan, huh? Was she any good?" Not even looking at him, I slapped him across the back of his head and went back to my drink.

Bpov

I was just putting the finishing touches on dinner, when I heard the front door open. I knew immediately that it was Alice. The only other person with a key to my apartment was Charlie and he would have called before coming over. Looking up when I hear the clack, clack of her heels stop, I see something that I've never seen before. Alice looks afraid.

Rushing over to her I take her hands into mine, "what's wrong Ali, is it Jasper? Charlie?" Nothing could have prepared me for what came out of her mouth, "He knows Bella, Edwards back, and he knows that Ethan is his." I drop her hands like I've been burned.

"How could he know? Did Jasper tell him? Oh god he's going to be furious! What am I going to do Ali? What if he tries to take my son away from me, I can't let that happen. Maybe I could leave. He can't take Ethan, if he can't find us" At this point I was more talking to my self then Alice. I started calculating how much I had in the bank and thinking about how much we'd need, when I was brought back to reality by a soft but firm slap to my cheek.

"Bella snap the fuck out of it! Leaving? Are you insane? You can't leave; your lives are here, not to mention your job. You've been running from this for the past 10 years. Its time to face it. You said you would tell Edward one day, and that day has come."

I slumped down on my couch. I knew she was right, that still doesn't mean I wasn't terrified of how this was going to go. How do you even begin to tell someone that you have a child together?

I looked up at my best friend, I know she could see all the questions I had, but her response was, "I don't know Bella. I know you're scared, you just have to trust that Edward won't do anything rash; I really don't believe he'll take him from you. He's more hurt then anything that he's missed out on so much."

Tears filled my eyes when she mentioned this. I hadn't really meant to let so many years slip by without telling him, I had let fear over rule my common sense. I just had to pray that Edward forgives me.

Once I had calmed down, I began to come up with a plan. "OK, I think that Edward and I need to meet somewhere, I think a discussion needs to had before anything else gets decided. You said that he's back? You mean like he's moved back here?" She nodded. For the first time this evening, she's got a smile on her face.

"This is going to be so great Bella! Ethan will finally have his father! Maybe you and Edward can finally get together."

Shaking my head I stopped her right there. " No, Edward and I won't be together, we were only together once and we were both drunk at the time. Besides I'm sure he has a gorgeous supermodel girlfriend, so there really isn't any point in talking about it." Changing subjects, I asked. "Will you set up mine and Edwards meeting? Maybe see if he's available sometime tomorrow? We could maybe meet at the coffee shop?"

Standing up, she made her way to me, "I'll take care of it, don't worry. I'll text you the details when I get them, ok?" Nodding my head, I stand up; we embrace for a few seconds, before she moves to the door. With a quick "see ya later!" she's gone.

Walking down the hallway, I make my way to my son's room. He's lying on his bed, ear buds in and book in his hand. I watch him for a few minutes before making my presence known. Looking up when I sit on his bed, his green eyes always catch me off guard. No one could deny he was Edward Cullen's child, if it wasn't the green eyes, it was the gorgeous bronze hair.

Taking out one of the ear buds, I said, "Dinner's ready, come eat."

"Ok, mom." He bookmarked his spot. And jumped off his bed.

Looking back at me, still sitting on his bed, he spoke, "you coming too, or are you just going to sit there all night?" he grinned.

Laughing, I got up and caught up with him. Slinging my arm around his shoulder, I gave him a sideways hug. Things were about to change around here. Weather they are for the good or the bad, I don't know. I just have to pray that fate is kind to me and that eventually Edward and Ethan both forgive me for keeping them apart.

**A/N: So, Edward knows now and you've gotten a small dose of Ethan. Next up is there coffee shop meeting. Any thoughts on how it might go? Let me know! Also, As far as any kind of schedule goes, I'm going to try and update, 1-2 times a week. I will promise you now that I won't go a month without updating unless; I'm deathly sick and dying or dead. Until next time, happy Reading! **

**Jenny**


	3. Coffee Conversations

**A/N: So, I know I said 1-2 ch. a week but, E and B don't seem to want to shut up, so there verboseness is your gain. I however have a headache. So, without further ado, I give you ch. 3!**

**Disclaimer: things I own:** **A life size cardboard cut of of Edward Cullen. Things I don't own: Twilight. That belongs to Stephanie Meyers, ****I just borrow them. Ethan however is all mine!**

Coffee Conversations

I arrived at the local coffee shop fifteen minutes early; I was completely psyching myself out. Different scenarios kept running through my head, Alice had spent the better part of the morning trying to calm me down. The truth was, I didn't know Edward all that well to begin with in high school, tack on ten years of no contact and one could say I don't know him at all now. My nerves steamed from not knowing how he'll react to all of this. Even though he technically already knows, hearing it from me directly will only solidify it. What if he doesn't want kids? What if he wants a paternity test done? Ethan Looks just like him, but Edward would be well within his rights to request one anyway. Oh god, how would I explain that to Ethan?

Looking down at my watch, I noticed I still had five minutes before he was supposed to arrive. The line at the counter had all but died down, so I took the opportunity to get myself a drink, at least then I would have something to distract myself with, I had a feeling this was going to be an awkward conversation. Just as I was about to order, I heard a bell ring, signaling that someone was entering the shop. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it would be. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, as I slowly turned around there he was. He hadn't changed much in ten years, but what had changed had been for the better. He was more muscular then I remember, not so much that it was like a body builder, but more subtle. His jaw looked like it was carved from stone and had to be a few inches taller. Greek gods had nothing on this man. Slightly shaking my head, to clear the untoward thoughts away, I walked over to him. As soon as he saw me, his posture tensed. He didn't say a word, just stared at me._ Great_. I thought, this is already off to a great start. Squaring my shoulders, I decided to woman up, and get this going, _for Ethan_. I kept that mantra up in my mind.

"Edward, how are you?" I gave myself a mental facepalm. _How do you think he is? He found out yesterday he has a ten year old son. I'm sure he's just peachy!_

He ran his hand through his hair slightly grabbing onto it at the ends. "I'm doing ok, I suppose."

Silence.

This wasn't going well at all. I decided to try again, "Did you want to get something to drink, we can sit down and talk, I'm sure you have about a million questions, and I know I've got a lot of explaining to do."

He nodded, but didn't say anything else. Awkwardly we made our way up to the counter and placed our orders. Planning on paying for both drinks, I reached into my wallet for my card, only to be stopped by a hand. "I got it." He said.

Shaking my head I pulled my card out, but Edward beat me to it, giving his card to the cashier first. I huffed and stuffing my wallet into my back pocket. After receiving our drinks we went back to the table I had reserved for us. After about ten minutes, he spoke.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about my son?"

Clearing my throat, I looked up at him, it took me a second to respond, and it seemed like no matter what I thought a good response would be, I couldn't make myself say the words. Looking down at the cup in my hands, I finally began, hoping he would understand.

"By the time I found out that I was pregnant, you and your family gone. I can't use the excuse that I didn't know how to contact you, I could have easily. My biggest reason was that I was afraid. Afraid that you wouldn't want our son, or that you might have tried to take him from me. Then I started thinking about what would happen if I did tell you, would you come back here? I couldn't let you give up everything and then later on hate me for ruining your life. The next thing I thought about was custody, would or child have to be shipped back and forth between here and New York? I lived that life, and I didn't want that for my child." I looked back up at him; I saw so many emotions, anger, hurt, sadness. I quickly looked back down, afraid that if I didn't get this all out I might never have the courage to again.

"I know that it doesn't fix everything, but I just want to say that I'm sorry. I never should have kept him from you. I let my fear of the unknown over crown my judgment and because of that you've missed out on the last ten years of your sons life. I know you'll probably never forgive me, but I hope that one day you can and we can at least be friends." I kept my head down after I was finished. Tears were threatening to spill, but I refused to let them. I had created this mess, and now it was time to face it. Once my emotions were somewhat contained, I looked up at him. He took a deep breath letting it out slowly before he started to speak.

Epov

"I have so many questions; I don't know where to even begin. I'll start by saying that I accept your apology. Forgiving you will take time. You kept my son from me, while however honorable your intentions were, you had no right to. I have to wonder; if I hadn't moved back here, would you have ever told me?" I was trying so hard to keep my anger in check. Getting all pissed off right now wouldn't help.

"I honestly don't know. I like to think I would have but, I've spent the better part of ten years essentially afraid of what might happen when I told you. So honestly I have no idea if I could have made myself do it."

I nodded. At least she was being honest with me.

" I can't honestly say how I would of reacted if you had told me after you found out. I'd like to say I'd of came back but, I was a completely different person back then. My parents...Oh damn, they don't know anything about this, They're on vacation right now, somehow a phone call doesn't seem like the right way to tell them. It'll have to be when they come home. They're moving back here too." At the mention of my parents, Bella looked a little scared. To be honest, I am too. I have no idea how they're going to react at first. I know mom has been begging for grandchildren for a while, but with Emmett and I both focused on school then our residency, we didn't have much time for a social life, let alone steady girlfriends. Getting back to the subject at hand though...

"I want to meet Ethan. I want to be a part of his life. We don't have to tell him right away who I am but, I don't want to waste anymore time away from him. I start work in 2 weeks. Emmett and I hope to have our practice up and running by then. If you want, we can have my lawyer set up a visitation schedule as well as child support." I stopped talking when I saw her shaking her head rapidly. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Let's try this first without a lawyer. I don't expect you to pay child support and we don't need a schedule. I won't keep him from you and I don't want child support. When it comes to expenses for him, we can work it out ourselves, ok?"

I mulled it over for a bit. Can I really trust her? I don't think she'd keep him from me, but she's practically lied for the past ten years. Am I even listed on the birth certificate? I decided to voice these thoughts.

"I really want to trust you, Bella. It's just going to take time. Am I even listed as his father on his birth certificate?"

She nodded. I felt relieved, at least this way we won't have to do a paternity test to get me put on there. I felt a small, sliver of trust for her, it was minute, but the fact that she still put me on there as his father said a lot.

"When can I meet him?" I asked.

"How about you come over tonight? I can make dinner; it'll give you guy's time to talk and get to know each other without having strangers there too."

I hesitated. Being at Bella's house seemed an almost too intimate setting for a first meeting. Then again, I didn't want to have to share him with random people. Nodding my consent, I asked another question. "What are we going to tell him? I don't think telling him I'm his father tonight is a good idea, but from what I've heard we look a lot alike."

A small smile played across her lips. " You guys really do, would you like to see a picture? I could describe him, but it's really something you have to see for yourself."

She messed around on her phone for a few seconds before handing it to me. What I saw on the screen took my breath away. There was no denying he was my son. It was like looking at a picture of myself at that age. I felt something wet on my cheek, it wasn't until I wiped it away that I realized I was crying, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen, It wasn't until it went black that I snapped out of it and handed Bella back her phone, she too had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe how much he looks like me. Can you tell me more about him?"

Wiping her tears away, she proceeded to tell me everything she could think of. His full name was Ethan Andrew Swan. He loved to play sports, read and listen to music. I asked what sports and she said that Baseball is his favorite, along with football. At that I smiled. I became obsessed with baseball as soon as I was strong enough to swing a bat. Knowing that my soon possibly loved it just as much made me hope that could become a tradition of sorts for us. I also noted his name, if we were to ever change his last name to mine, we'd have the same initials.

Noting the time on her watch, Bella said that she had to go. Ethan would be getting out of school soon and she needed to go pick him up. We made plans for tonight; I'd be there at 5:30 for dinner. As we made to get up, it got awkward again, shaking hands seemed too formal for the mother of your child, but was a hug too intimate? Oh, what the hell. I hugged her, catching her completely off guard, she was tense for a few seconds before relaxing. I released her a few seconds later and with one final goodbye, I was out the door. I was nervous as hell about tonight, but for some reason knowing that Bella would be there with me, made me feel almost calm. It gave me hope that one day we could overcome this awkwardness and just maybe we could be friends and find a way to raise our son together.

**A/N: I promise not to make this a really slow burn, but they do have a few issues to work out before we can even think about there being romance, on that same note, I swear not to let it drag on forever before they get together! **

**-Jenny**


	4. First Meeting

**A/N: So, I had planned to post this on Friday, but I had a wedding cake to make. Long story short, my sister let her marriage license expire, so she wasn't legally married, so we had an impromptu wedding in my parents living room on Saturday. So Blame her for this not getting out then, I do! ****That being said, this is only half of there dinner together. I tried writing it all but it wasn't coming out right so, I'll give you this half and hopefully have the second half up in a few days! Thanks to all of my reviewers, you guys are the greatest! I'm glad that you all are loving this story. I promise not to be a review whore, that's not why I write this, I do it because I like to, but seriously, whenever my phone pings with an email saying that I've gotten a review, it makes my day! **

**P.S. I don't currently have a Beta for this fic, but if anyone would like that job let me know. I'm pretty OCD when it comes to proof reading, but especially with my own work, I know I don't always catch things! So until I find a beta, if you notice any major grammatical errors, please NICELY let me know! Trust me you'll be doing me a huge favor, I HATE mistakes in my writing, especially when it can be avoided so easily!**

**-Jenny  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: As always, Twilight isn't mine...**

First Meeting

Sitting at my dining room table, I attempted to get some work done. I work as an editor; it was the perfect job for me when I graduated. I am able to pretty much work from home if I need to. Lately though I've been bored with it all. I haven't read an original plot line in what seemed like forever. After re-reading the same line again, I gave up and tossed it into the reject pile. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was only 12:15. _I think time is actually moving backwards now. _Edward would be here in a little over five hours and I was a mess, figuratively. Although, I haven't glanced in a mirror lately so it might be literally as well.

I walked room to room making sure everything was in its place, and there wasn't a speck of dirt in sight. I had spent half the night cleaning because I couldn't sleep. Every time I'd go to close my eyes, I'd envision different things going wrong for today. Ethan not liking Edward, Edward deciding he didn't want to be a part of this. In the end instead of sleeping, I got up and power cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. I even got everything prepared for dinner, so all I had to do was put it in the oven when the time came. Now, though it didn't seem like such a good idea, I had absolutely nothing to do. Ethan was in school, and wouldn't be done until 3:30. Just as I was about to go back into the bathroom to give it one more scrub down, my phone rang. Grateful for the distraction, I rushed to answer it, damn near tripping over air. Righting myself I answered slightly out of breath.

"Hello?"

"Bella! I just wanted to let you know I'm on my way. I would have been there an hour ago but I ran behind at work. Anyway we need to get you showered, then we can work on your hair, make-up and I have an outfit for you to wear..." I cut her off before she could go any further.

"Alice, what in the hell are you talking about? Edward's coming over tonight, remember? I don't know what you have planned but I can't go." She's lost her mind, of this I am positive.

"I know you're having Edward over tonight! That's why I'm coming over; we need to make you look fabulous."

"No, no, no. Tonight isn't about me. It's about Ethan and Edward. Besides, why would Edward care about how I looked?" I need to stop this conversation, now. I know where it's going, and I can't deal with this right now.

Alice, not one to be deterred from anything continued on. " Its not so much for Edward as it's for yourself. You need the confidence and you know what they say, 'you're only feel as good as you look', right? So I'm here, I'll be up in a second. You need to do this!" She hung up. I knew it was pointless to argue. Alice was on a mission right now and she'd stop at nothing.

Alice waltzed on in, not even bothering with a greeting before she grabbed my hand and drug me down the hall towards my room. She shoved me in my bathroom with a bag full of what I was sure were overpriced bath items and told me I had 20 minutes. Any later and she would be coming in to drag me out, soapy or not. I scrubbed and shaved, shampooed and conditioned. I was out wrapped in a towel with 2 minutes to spare. I was unceremoniously shoved into a chair. She started brushing through my hair, I know she was gathering her thoughts, there was a line between her brows and she was chewing on the inside of her lip.

"I have a very good reason for doing this, I promise. I was going to completely stay out of it but I got to thinking that I wish I could do something to help make this easier on you. I know you've been going crazy around here, making sure everything will be perfect for tonight. So, I thought I could make you perfect! Not that you aren't already, so actually I'm just polishing you up some. When Edward comes over tonight, I want him to see what an amazing, gorgeous, sexy woman you've grown up to be. That him being back here and finally knowing about Ethan isn't making you a nervous wreck inside, and above all, when he sees you I want him to know that just because he's here, doesn't mean that you need him, I want him to see an independent woman standing there, ready to take on the world."

I sat there, stunned by her words. They empowered me. Looking at Alice through the mirror, I gave her a smile and a nod. She was right, I needed this. I knew as soon as I opened that door, I'd be close to hyperventilating. Maybe a mini make over would help, a new look might just give me that little boost of confidence I needed.

Alice didn't disappoint. By 5:00, I was perfect. My hair was down, with a natural wave to it. I was in a dark blue wrap dress. I convinced Alice that I didn't need the hooker heels she was trying to force on me. I wasn't even leaving the apartment goodness sake! Alice had called Jasper at some point and had him pick Ethan up from school for me. Speaking of Ethan, I should probably let him know about our dinner guest, the more he knew now, the less likely he would be to ask questions at dinner, questions, Edward and I probably weren't ready to answer yet.

I made my way to his room, he was sitting at his desk working on home work. I knocked slightly, my hand too shaky to make much noise. I don't know why this was making me so nervous. As far as Ethan's concerned, we're just having dinner with an old friend of mine from high school. _Yea, a friend that happens to look a lot like him. _I hate my subconscious sometimes. Walking over to his desk, I sat on the edge to face him.

"Wow mom, you look pretty. We having a party I didn't know about?" I shook my head, and gave him a smile.

"No, one of my friends from high school moved back recently, we ran into each other the other day and I invited him over for dinner tonight. His name is Edward." I looked down at my hands; I hated lying to my son. We never had secrets between us, except for this. I look back up at him prepared for questions, but see him with a puzzled look on his face.

"You've said that name in your sleep. You usually cry too, I don't want him here if he hurt you Mommy." My breath caught in my throat. I hadn't had a dream about Edward in a while that I could remember at least. Quickly gathering my thoughts, I scrambled to come up with a reply.

"Edward didn't hurt me, baby. I guess I just really missed him and that's why I would cry. It's because I was sad that Edward moved away." This seemed to placate him for the moment thankfully, because not a minute later I heard a knock on the door. Glancing at the clock, I noticed he was 10 minutes early.

"Come on Ethan that should be him. Dinner's about done too." Standing up, he grabbed my hand and followed me out into the living room. I opened the door and any breath I had left my body.

.Gorgeous.

He stood there in a dark grey button down and faded blue jeans, his hair looked like he had been running his hand through it repeatedly. This only made him look sexier. He shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat, and extended his hand towards me. It was then I noticed the bouquet of blue roses. "My mom told me never to show up to dinner empty handed and I didn't know if you drank so, I didn't want to bring wine…." He trailed off, I nervously. Quickly snapping out my Edward induced coma, I scrambled to regain my hostess skills.

" Thank you Edward, these are lovely, come in please." Edwards attention seemed to zero in on something directly to my left after I had shut the door. Ethan. Looking down at him, I could see him taking Edward in, from head to toe. Like he could almost force some kind of answer from him if he just stared long enough. Pulling him in front of me, I made the introduction.

"Ethan, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Edward. Edward, this is Ethan."

Ethan, being the little gentleman I taught him to be, stuck his hand out, in greeting. Edward grasped it, and looked at me quickly, his green eyes glassy. He quickly shut them and re-opened them, seeming to regain his composure before he spoke.

"It's very nice to meet you Ethan. I've heard so much about you from your mom here." Quietly Ethan stood there. Staring at Edward, but he didn't let go of his hand. After what seemed like a life time he let go. Finally he spoke.

"You look like me." I wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Both Edward and I froze. His eyes darted up to mine before going back to Ethan. Slowly he nodded. Shrugging, Ethan seemed to let it go, "Do you like baseball Edward? I have a really fun game on the Wii we could play. Can we mom?" Unable to ever say no, I agreed. "That's fine; dinner will be another few minutes. I'll call you when it's ready."

Grabbing Edward by the hand he led him over to the TV, to get it set up. Edward looked back at me, with a terrified look. I gave him an encouraging smile, and then turned to head towards the kitchen. Checking on the lasagna, I pulled it out. Then I set to work on the salad, once that was done, I moved everything to the table. I had already set the plates and utensils out, so I had nothing else to do. In all honesty, I was stalling. I was trying to give Edward some alone time with Ethan. I crept over to the entrance to the living room, and what I saw nearly brought tears to my eyes. They were sitting side by side on the couch laughing and smiling as they played high fiving when one of them would do something good in the game. I let it go on for a few minutes before interrupting, letting them know dinner was done.

EPOV

I have to say, I was a complete wreck all day. Knowing I was meeting my son for the first time had my stomach in knots. By the time I showed up at her front door, I was afraid I was going to throw up, but as soon as the door opened, a calm fell over me. She looked amazing. Her hair was down, and the color blue she was wearing made her skin almost glow. She looked like an angel. After coming in, I noticed Ethan by her, my nerves came back full force. What if he didn't like me? What if he guessed who I was and didn't want to talk to me? Bella introduced us, and he took my hand. I was trying to fight back my tears. Bella had done such a good job raising him, he looked so much like me, but I could see his mind was like Bella's. He was definitely a thinker. He stood there, silently scrutinizing me. Just as I was about to start panicking again, he let go of my hand and said that I looked like him. I could only nod. I chanced a quick glance at Bella who looked just as scared as I did. But, Ethan shrugged it off and dragged me over to play a game on the Wii. I looked back at Bella almost begging her to tell me what to do. I have never really been around kids besides my stint in the Pediatrics ward when I was doing my residency. She just gave me a smile and went into the kitchen. Turning back to Ethan he handed me a remote and pushed me onto the couch. This should be easy right? I've played games with Emmett before, I can do this!


	5. First meeting: Part 2

**A/N: Surprise! my head cleared up, and now I present part 2 of there dinner, I'll warn you now, I was tearing up a bit as I wrote some of this, and I'm not someone who cry's, like EVER! Thank you again to my reviewers, you guys rock, as well as everyone that's put me on any kind of alert, I heart you all! **

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own twilight, I do however FINALLY own my own copy of Breaking Dawn!**

First meeting part 2

BPOV

Dinner conversation flowed pretty well, thanks mostly to Ethan. He kept his flow of questions coming, grilling not only Edward, but myself as well. Questions like, how long we've known each other, what we were like when we were in school, what sports Edward liked to play. The questions themselves were innocent enough, but something told me my son was up to something.

When dinner was done, we went back to the living room where Ethan and Edward played more of there game. I wish I could say Edward was letting him win, but Ethan seemed to be truly kicking his ass. By the time they had finished 3 games it was almost Ethan's bed time. I told Ethan to say goodnight and go get ready for bed. Ethan turned around and gave Edward a hug, saying goodnight as he did. He started down the hall before turning around and looking back at the both of us.

"You'll come see me again, right? I mean you're mom's friend and you live here now, so you'll come over and visit a lot?" The tips of his ears turned red, as he rambled on. Edward walked over to him, and got down on his knees so he was more eye level.

"I'll come visit you as much as you want. Maybe here soon we can go out and do something together just us guys. I don't start work for a few weeks so I'm sure we can get something together before then." He looked back at me, with hopeful eyes, I noticed my son with the same look on his face.

"Absolutely." I said. I'd never been able to resist my son when he made that face. I was completely hopeless when Edward and Ethan made it.

Seeming satisfied with that answer, he walked down the hall to the bathroom and shut the door.

Edward got up from the floor and made his way back over to the couch. Sitting down he looked at me. "I guess I should be going, but can we talk for a few minutes?"

I nodded. "Sure, just let me get him settled in bed and I'll be right back."

When I got to Ethan's room I sat at his desk and waited for him to get done in the bathroom, when he came in and climbed in bed. I sat down on the edge. I tucked him in, kissing him on the forehead; I went to turn out his light, when he looked up at me with his big green, sleepy eyes, "I'm glad Daddy came back for us Momma. Now you don't have to be sad when you sleep anymore." With that being said, he rolled over and was out a few seconds later. I stood there in shock. How could he know? _Of course he knows. _I thought,_ how could he not? Looking at Edward must have been looking at a giant sized version of himself. Ethan's a smart kid. _Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I walked back to the living room in a daze. Edward must of saw the almost panicked look on my face because he jumped up and quickly made his way to me.

"What's wrong? Is everything ok with Ethan?"

All I could do was nod. No words would come out.

"Bella talk to me. You're as white as a sheet. Here sit down let me get you a drink."

A few seconds later, he came back with two bottles of water, uncapping one, he handed it to me, helping me take a sip.

"Thank you." I choked out.

Bella, what happened? You take Ethan to bed, and then you come out here looking like you've seen a ghost. You're scaring me a bit. Talk to me please."

Taking a deep breath, I tell him.

"Ethan knows." I'm shaking at this point. Grabbing the water so it doesn't spill, he set it on the table before grabbing my hand with his surprisingly warm ones. I grip his hoping that the contact will calm me down some so I can get this all out.

"What does Ethan know?" He's searching my eyes, he knows the answer, but I think he's too afraid to acknowledge it himself.

"He knows you're his dad. When I was putting him to bed, he said…" I cut off, the tears threatening to fall. Closing my eyes to regain my composure, I feel a warm tingling sensation on my face. Opening my eyes, I see its Edward wiping away a few tears that escaped. "He said that he was glad that his Daddy came back for us."

EPOV

_Oh, God. _ I thought. He thinks I abandoned them? I feel tears in my eyes and I don't even try to stop them. "You know, I would of came back had I'd known. Or I would of made arrangements some how so I could see him as much as I could." I put my head in my hands. I had just spent a few hours with this amazing child and already the thought of not being able to see him is agonizing, to think that he thinks I did this on purpose is too much to bear.

Bella puts her head on my shoulder, rubbing slightly, after a few moments, she speaks softly. "I don't think he thinks you abandoned him Edward. He just knows that you're not around, and that's no one fault but my own. We can change that now. I want you to be a part of his life as much as you want. I won't hold you back from anything, I swear." Nodding, I wipe my eyes, and lift my head to look at her.

"Thank you. I want to be apart of his life in any and every way that I can. I don't want to miss out on anymore then I already have." She nods, tears threatening to start again. I know she feels bad for not telling me sooner, I want to comfort her, but at the same time I still hold on to some of the resentment I have for her not telling me. Pushing it aside though, I grab her and pull her into my arms; she stiffens for a moment then relaxes and puts her forehead on my shoulder. Muffled, she starts to speak, "I'll say it a hundred times a day if I have to, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner. You don't know how much I wish I could take it back." Looking up at me, she sniffles then continues, "But I can't. I can't take it back, no matter how much I wish I could. That's why I said no to an arrangement with the courts, or child support, I want you to have full access to our child, I want us to do this together, even though we're not a couple." She pulled out of my arms. As soon as she did, I felt almost cold. Looking at her as she put her head down and chewed on her bottom lip, I thought she had never looked more gorgeous. Stopping those thoughts before they started though, I decided to focus back on my…our son.

"When can I see him again, I know he's in school during the week, but I'd really like to spend as much time as I can before I start work. My schedule won't be all that crazy; Em and I are in Family medicine so I'll have an 8-5 day. I want to set a room for him at my condo for him as well so he can spend some nights with me, if that's ok. I know that might take time but I just want you to know I'm all in." She agreed,

"We can kind of play everything by ear for now, how about you call me when you get up and we can kind of decide what goes on during the week and Friday we can plan out the weekends?" Agreeing, we exchanged contact information. Looking at the clock on my phone, I noticed we'd been talking for close to 3 hours, standing up; I looked down and held my hand out to help her from the couch.

"Well, I'd better be going. I know you probably have to be up early with Ethan. I'll call you tomorrow, to set something up." She nodded. On impulse, I wrapped her in a soft hug, holding on maybe longer then I should of. I couldn't help but notice how right she felt there though. Letting go I looked down at her, "Thank you Bella. I might not agree with you not telling me about Ethan, but you've done an amazing job raising him, I just hope together now, we can do just as good a job." She gave me a smile, it was somewhat hopeful mixed with what looked like relief. I smiled, then before my brain could catch up; I swooped down and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed a dark red, with her head down; she walked me to the door. Before she opened it, she paused, " I almost forgot, wait her a second." She trotted over to a bookshelf and plucked off what looked like a binder with fabric on the outside. She walked back and presented it to me. Taking it from her, what I saw on the cover nearly made the tears start up again. " I made this for you. I knew you'd want to see everything that you missed, I made one of myself and I and one for you as he grew. I know it doesn't make up for you not being there in person. But I thought that at least this way, you're not totally in the dark on the past 9 years." She stood there picking at her fingers, while she waited for me to take it all in. Hugging it to my chest, I looked up at her.

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means."

Walking out, I heard her voice, it was shy, and quiet that I almost didn't hear her. " Goodnight Edward, pleasant dreams." looking back, I smiled at her, I responded. "Pleasant dreams to you too, Night." Her blushed seemed to darken and she quickly shut the door. Walking out to my car, I got in and started it up. I wanted so bad just to dive into the baby book that was currently sitting on my passenger seat, but knowing that more then likely I would be a total mess, I put my hand to it, brushing my thumb over his name before, pulling out and making my way home.


	6. FatherSon time pt 1

**A/N: So, yea, sorry this is late but RL can be a bitch sometimes! So I apologize for this being late, but i figured something is better then nothing at all, yes? I plan on having the second half to this up no later then tomorrow. So that being said...Read on! **

**-Jenny  
><strong>

Father/Son Time pt. 1

EPOV

I had called Bella the next morning to set up something for Ethan and I to do together. I had a million idea's floating through my head and I needed her help to narrow down what he liked to do. After finding out he loved animals, I decided on the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. It was a bit of a drive from the one in Seattle but I figured I'd take him somewhere he's not been before. Now that we had the place nailed down, I was on pins and needles waiting for Saturday. With Ethan being in school its not like we could just take off whenever. So, by the time 7:30am Saturday morning rolled around I had already been up, showered and dressed. Now I was staring down the clock waiting for it to hit 8:00 so I could head out, the zoo opened at 9:30, so with about an hour drive I was hoping to get there as soon as it opened.

Bella and I had also discussed what to do if Ethan had started asking questions about her and I and we decided to tell him the truth, well as much of the truth that a nine year old would understand. Glancing at the clock, it read; 7:50. Eh, close enough. I grabbed my cell phone and keys; made sure I had my wallet and was out the door. I arrived at Bella's apartment in 15 minutes. Of course that's when I started to get nervous. I'd be alone with Ethan the whole day. I'd spent some time with him through out the week, but Bella had always been there and it certainly hadn't been a whole day. Maybe I should have Bella come with us…No, no I can do this. I just need to take a few breaths, and calm the fuck down. Squaring my shoulders I get out of the car and into the apartment building. I knock on Bella's door, seconds later, I hear small feet pounding the ground and then finally the door opens.

"Edward! You're here! I'm so excited about the Zoo! I've never been to this one, have you? What kind of animals do they have? Will we have time to see them all?"

I chucked as I walked in, the kid sounded like he just ate half a bag of sugar, today should definitely be interesting.

"No, I've never been to this zoo before, so I'm not sure what kinds of animals are there and I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to see them all." I couldn't help but grin, how could I have been nervous about today?

Bella chose that moment to enter the room. She had a backpack in one hand.

"I packed him a few snacks for the car ride, he's already had breakfast, but I'm sure he'll want a snack here soon. Also there's an extra pair of clothes just incase." She looked nervous; I needed to assure her that today would be ok.

"Thanks, I didn't think of that, I'm glad you did. But, I promise we'll be ok. Nothing dangerous, just going to the zoo, then coming home, I won't take him skydiving this time." Her eyes widened minutely. I cocked an eyebrow at her to let her know I was kidding. She shook her head and her shoulders seemed to relax a bit.

"I know he's safe with you. I just worry, no matter who takes him out, I'm a mother, it's in my job description!" She said jokingly. Then turned serious again;

"If you need anything don't hesitate to call me, ok? He can be a handful especially when excited."

"Bella, I swear if we need anything we'll call, now relax, you're going to give yourself an ulcer with all this worrying, doctors orders." I gave her a smile, then glanced at my watch. "Well, its time to get going so we can be there when the gates open!" Bella leaned down to give Ethan a hug.

"Be a good boy for Edward, ok? Do what he tells you, and don't run off without letting him know where you're going first ok?" You could tell he's heard this speech before. Trying not to roll his eyes, he responded with a quick, "Ok, mom." Then he was by the door waiting for me. "Come on Edward, I wanna go!" I let out a short laugh, and glanced at Bella to let her know we were leaving.

"Could you text me when you get there, just so I know you guys made it ok?" She looked unsure as she asked this.

"Of course. Bye Bella, take it easy today, just try and relax. I won't let anything happen to him, I swear it." She nodded but didn't seem too convinced. Honestly she was starting to piss me off a bit. What did she think I was going to do? Feed him to the tigers? Sighing, I walked out the door with Ethan. We were not on the highway ten minutes when the questions started up.

"Edward, why'd you leave mommy?" Shit, this kid wastes no time diving in.

"Well, I went to school in New York; I didn't know your mom was pregnant with you when I left." That sounded like a good answer. I glanced in the mirror, he looked deep in thought, I drove quietly waiting for the next question, and I didn't have to wait long.

"So, then why didn't mom tell you about me until now?" Maybe I should say he should ask Bella about this, but I promised I'd be truthful so…

"Well, I think she was afraid that I'd be mad at her, but I never would have been. I think she was just scared. Maybe that's something you should ask your mom about?" I'm starting to think Bella and I should of sat him down together and answered all of this.

"Are you going to stay here now? Or will you have to leave again? Cause, I really don't want you to leave." I felt my throat tightening up. He thought I might leave again? There's no way, I'd fight with everything I had so I'd never have to leave here again.

"No, Eth, I'm not leaving again. I couldn't leave you behind. If I had known about you sooner, I would have come back, I promise." He nodded, seeming pleased with my answers. I thought that was all he was going to asked and was happy I was getting off easy. We sat in silence for a bit, with him quietly singing along to the radio. Then came the mother of all questions…

"So, does this mean that you and mom will get married now? Since you know about me and mom and dads that have kids are usually married. Oh and when can I start calling you Dad?" Oh, God. Double whammy. I pulled the car to the side of the highway. Sitting there a few seconds, I tried to un-scramble my thoughts so I could form a coherent sentence. I had no Idea what to say, about the marriage part that is, I was ecstatic that he wanted to call me dad. So I decided to start with that. Turning around, I said;

"Ethan, you can call me dad, whenever you want. You don't have to if you don't want to, that's entirely up to you." He tilted his head to the side he reguarded me for a few seconds.

"So, if I wanted to call you dad now, I could? Cause, I think I'd like to, if you're ok with it?" He sounded unsure of himself. Quickly, to calm his fears I answered.

"Nothing would make me happier, if you did." He nodded. I thought I avoided the 'other question', but nope, he came right back with it.

"So, will you and mom get married now?" The kid doesn't give up, I'll give him that much. I decided once again not to sugar coat it and just be honest.

"No, Ethan it doesn't mean your mom and I will get married. We're just friends, right now." Wait. Right now? Does this mean I want there to be more? Filing that little nugget of information away for later, I looked back at my son.

"Oh, ok. But that doesn't mean you won't in the future!" With that he put his head phones in, effectively drowning out any comeback I might have had. The kids smart and a part of me feels like he might be up to something. Pulling back out on the road, my thoughts drift to Bella. Could we be more then friends? Maybe. But at the same time, I don't know if it's a road I want to go down, she couldn't be bothered to tell me I had a son for almost 10 years, what if we did get into a relationship and she lies about something else, then what? I get her reasoning for not telling me about Ethan in the first place, I suppose I would of considered the same thing had our roles have been reversed. But it still makes me wary of her. I guess time is the only thing that will tell. This morning wasn't. Its like she didn't trust me to take our son out for a day. I get that I'm new to this whole father thing, but cut a guy some slack. I wasn't the one who lied for damn near ten years. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, I have to admit the past 10 years have only made Bella hotter. But more then that, when we're not being awkward around each other, we're comfortable, almost natural. Like when we all had dinner at her place when I first met Ethan, I had this sense of belonging there. So, maybe Bella and I could be together. Hell, I'm planning this all out and I don't even know if she wants the same thing, she might not. Although, Now that I think about it, the more that I like the idea of Bella and I being an 'Us'. I still have some major trust issues with her, but maybe in time we can over come that. Maybe we really could be a family one day.

**So, what did we think? Think Ethan's planning something? Is he done asking all his questions yet? What questions do you still think he might have? Next up we'll continue in EPOV. Bella's off having a relaxing day so she doesn't have much to say. Plus Daddyward is way cuter to write! **


	7. FatherSon time pt 2

Part 2

EPOV

Arriving at the zoo, we manage to make it just as they were opening the gates to let people in. After paying for our tickets and grabbing a map we set off. Ethan decided he wanted to see the Elephants first so we went right to the Asian Forest Sanctuary. We slowly made our way around the park. Workers were around with various animals that we could touch and pet, to say Ethan was excited would be a severe understatement. Glancing at my watch I noticed it was around lunch time so we decided to take a break and eat. We decided on something indoors seeing as it was getting quite hot, we ordered our food and Ethan found us somewhere to sit. Just as I was about to bite into my cheeseburger my phone went off. Grabbing it out of my pocket, I glanced at the screen and found myself glad I hadn't taken a bit; it would have been making its way back up. Taking a shuddering breath I hit accept and answered with a hoarse, "Hello." God how could I have been so stupid? I was so wrapped up in all of this that I neglected to tell my parents I had a child! My mother is sure to skin me alive.

"Edward! How are you dear? Your dad and I have decided to cut our trip short, we should be home in a few days. How are you settling in? Is everything ok at yours and Emmett's practice? What's that noise in the background?"

I glanced up at Ethan who was still munching on a french fry but his eyes were trained on me. He had one eyebrow cocked; silently asking for an explanation as to why I suddenly look liked I might just shit myself. Running my hand through my hair, I hold up one finger and walk a few steps from our table, I face Ethan still so I can keep an eye on him, but I also am further away so he can't hear.

"Mom, I'm fine, I'm all settled in and mine and Emmett's practice is going great, we should be starting work her in a week or so. As to that noise, well I'm at the zoo in Tacoma today." Knowing my mom she wouldn't leave the zoo comment alone but its not like I can really lie to my mother.

"The zoo? Why are you at the zoo? Isn't that for kids? Who are you there with?" See? Told you she wouldn't let it go. Seems like I might just have to have this conversation on the phone. This will not go well.

"Uh, well mom you see, I um, well ok, you remember Bella Swan right? Of course you remember her, what I'm trying to say is we….she and I…We maybe sort of have a child together." Fuck my life. Smooth Cullen, real smooth. Only my mother could reduce me to a stumbling idiot. So not the way I wanted to tell them, but there it is. I waited what seemed like hours for her to respond but after a few minutes of nothing, I looked down at the screen to make sure the call was still connected, yep, still there. I decided to speak maybe if I get this all out quickly she might spare my ass.

"Mom, look I know how it sounds and I want you to know that I didn't know, I swear I didn't. I know it's not a good excuse and I'm working on fixing it right now. Bella and I have come up with a plan and we're going to do what we can to raise him together. Not together, together…but we're friends, and shit Mom would you please say something I'm going out of my mind here!" Grabbing a fist full of hair, I glanced quickly at Ethan he was still eating and staring at me.

"First of all, Edward Anthony watch your mouth. Second, did you say him? I have a grandson? How old is he? What's his name? How could his mother not tell you about him? I'm assuming you two were…together after graduation seeing as how you haven't been back to Washington since. Oh, Carlisle come quick, Edward has something he wants to tell you!" Damn it all to hell. Way to throw me under the bus mom!

"Edward, is everything ok? What do you need to tell me?" Well, I've already done it once lets try and not sound like a complete idiot this time.

"Well, when I got back here, I found out that I have a son." Again, the line went silent.

"Well, son, that's good news, I'm guessing? Not to sound like a complete, sorry Es, ass but are you sure he's yours?" I had a feeling he'd be the one to question it. I quickly found a solution though that would leave no doubt in there minds.

"I'll prove it right now. I'm going to hang up and send you something, then when you get it call me right back, ok?" They agreed and then hung up. I went back over to Ethan, he had finished his mean and was finishing up his drink.

"Hey, Eth, I want to get a picture of us to send to my parents, your grandparents, will that be ok? They want to meet you, so I thought I could send a picture of us." He agreed, after wiping his face on a napkin we posed, faces side by side. After sending the picture to my parents I found myself looking at it still. Hitting a few buttons it became my new background for the phone. Best. Background. Ever. It only took two minutes for my mom to call me back.

"He's so gorgeous Edward! There's no doubt you're his dad, he looks exactly like you! Tell me about him!" Holding the phone away from my ear and coving the bottom half I leaned towards Ethan.

"Hey, how would you like to say hi to Grandma Esme? You don't have to really talk to her if you don't want, but maybe a quick hello?" He looked unsure for a second before shrugging his shoulders and reaching out for the phone. Putting it back to my ear quickly I told my mom, "Hey why don't you ask your grandson those questions?" I handed him the phone and he slowly put it up to his ear.

"Hi. This is Ethan." He looked at me, I nodded encouragingly, I could hear my mom on the other end chatting away, after a few Ethan seemed to relax so I went back to my side of the table and picked at my food. Five minutes later and Ethan was still on the phone only, it was hard to tell who was talking more, him or my mom. It seems she wanted his life story and was attempting to get it right then and there. He finally handed me the phone back after a bit, grabbing it, I went to say goodbye to my mom.

"Oh Edward, he sounds so perfect! I can't wait to meet him! I'm not so sure about his mother though, I mean why would she keep him from you, from us for so long? Nine years! Nine years have been wasted!" I needed to nip this one in the bud quick.

"Mom, don't be mad at Bella, ok? She had her reasons, I know them and we're working through it, we're doing what we can to raise Ethan by ourselves and we don't want or need any interference from anyone, ok?"

"Ok, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this. I just hate to think about all we've missed out on that's all. We'll see you in a few days dear. I can't wait to see you or my sweet grandchild. Take care Edward, love you."

I smiled, yea I'm a momma's boy and even at the age of 29 hearing that my mom loves me makes me grin. "Love you too mom, see you soon."

After that, we wound our way through the rest of the park, leaving around 5:30. I called Bella to let her know we were on our way home and to tell her about my phone call from hell. OK so maybe it wasn't that bad but still, my mother is the only one that can make me still cower in fear. We agreed to talk about it when we got back, she offered dinner to me and being a sucker for home cooked meals I readily accepted.

We had made it back a little after 6:30. The ride home had been quiet; Ethan fell asleep as soon as we hit the highway. I gently shook him to get him to walk upstairs. When we got to the door, Bella opened it and Ethan went straight to his room and back to sleep. We both stared at him as shut his bedroom door. Now what? I was alone…With Bella. I glanced at her only to see her staring back at me with the same expression. She cleared her throat,

"So, I have dinner made, I think he's down for the night. You're more then welcome to stay and eat with me, if you want that is." She seemed so unsure of herself. Like if she said one thing wrong I was just going to strike out at her, this needed to be remedied, fast.

"Bella, I'd love to, plus I wanted to talk to you about my parents." She nodded and we headed into the dinning room.

Dinner was spaghetti and meatballs. We ate in silence for a few minutes. I was just about to say something when Bella spoke up.

"So, your mom called you while you were at the zoo today?" I'm still shuddering from that phone call.

"Yea, I had completely forgotten about them coming here in a few days. I was so wrapped up in everything that's been going on, I guess telling them kind of slipped my mind." I admitted sheepishly.

She nodded, and continued. "It was a lot to take in, I'm sure she'll understand why you forgot, they know everything now though, right? I mean, do they completely hate me for not telling you sooner?" She looked down at her plate.

"I'm not going to lie, she's wondering why you waited so long to tell me. But at the same time, I told her we were working it out and that we didn't want or need any outside interference. She talked to Ethan on the phone today and they seemed to get along real well, I think overall she's just glad she finally has a grandchild, the woman's been begging for the past few years for them. I do have to tell you though, my dad did question at first if Ethan was really mine. I shut that one down quickly though. I snapped a picture of us together there and sent it to them." I held my phone up to show her my new background. She smiled and said;

"You two look so cute together." I decided to mess with her a bit.

"So, you think I'm cute, huh." I gave her my crooked grin to know I was just playing. It still made her blush though.

"I meant that Ethan looked cute, and together you look cute not that you're cute, that's not to say you aren't either." She kept on rambling till I held a finger to her lips.

"I was just messing around with you Bella. Besides, I already know I'm cute so, no worries about damaging my ego!" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. We fell back into silence as we finished eating, it was comfortable though. I don't think I've ever really had that with someone, and I found that I liked it. I liked it a lot.

We finished up dinner and I offered to help with clean up, she agreed only after me insisting at least ten times. We worked together nicely, I rinsed and she put it in the dishwasher, after everything was cleaned off, she walked me to the door.

"Thanks for dinner Bella, if it weren't for you I'd be stuck eating frozen meals every night so I greatly appreciate it." She blushed slightly at the compliment, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful that shade of pink on her cheeks looked.

"Your welcome Edward, anytime you want to eat you're more then welcome to come over, its usually just Ethan and I, at least this way you can see him more often, just let me know when you want to come over."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you. Goodnight Bella, pleasant dreams." I chastely kissed her cheek and made my way out the door.

"Goodnight Edward."

I looked back to see Bella chewing on her bottom lip. Damn it to hell, she used to do that in high school. I remember it being a turn on for me for some reason, now I remember why. I wanted to be the one nibbling on that lip. Yea, yea, I'm a guy we're always in some state of horny, deal with it. Shaking my head quickly I gave her a quick wave and was out the door and headed home, funny thing is, my condo doesn't really feel like a home to me, not after spending the time I had at Bella's, I had a feeling though that it had less to do with the building and more the people in it.


	8. Dreams and Cold showers

**A/N: So, how's everyone's week been? I dunno about where everyone's from but here in Indiana we've been having some kick ass weather, especially for early to mid march, normally we're still waiting for the snow to melt! So here is where we're finally going to get some citrus! I wrote it and then re-wrote it several times, I kept getting the whole 5 dollar porno vibe each time I went back to re-read it. It's my first time writing anything like it, so suffice it to say I'm sweating like a whore in church over it, so that being said, enjoy and I'll see you all at the bottom! Oh, and I want to thank all my reviewers, you are all making my day! No seriously if I could hug you I would, I wasn't really expecting anyone to read this but hey, there you are so mucho love to everyone weather they review or not! Thanks for reading!  
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**P.S. This is the longest chapter I've written yet!  
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**-Jenny**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and all characters involved belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Too bad too, because Bella and Edward would have totally done it waaaaay before book four!**

**Dreams, cold showers**

"_Thanks for dinner tonight Bella, I'm really glad you've let me into Ethan's life and into yours." He had his perfectly crooked smile on his face. That smile always did something to me; even now I wanted nothing more then to kiss that smile right off of his face. Biting my lip, I looked up into his beautiful green eyes, only to see a hunger. He reached a hand up to my lip, still captured between my teeth and pulled gently. _

"_You shouldn't bite your lip like that." His voice had dropped an octave or two and his eyes had taken on a predatory gleam._

"_Seeing you doing that even in high school, well it…You have no idea the effect that has on people." Having no idea where my sudden confidence came from, but still deciding to take advantage of it, I asked, _

"_What sort of effect? Does it affect you, Edward?" At this point we're standing practically chest to chest, well, body to body at least. I could practically feel his heart beating. _

"_Well since you asked…" _

_Next thing I know, I'm pressed up against my front door, with Edwards body pinning me with his hips. Feeling his erection pressed so deliciously against me, I can't help the moan that escapes my lips. _

"_That's what it does to me, Bella. It's what you've been doing to me for the past few weeks. I can't fight this any longer. I want you." With that, he crashed his lips down onto mine. My brain apparently has been stunned into silence because, its no where to be found, no tiny little voice to tell me how wrong this is and how, we're just friends and we have our son to think about. So without thinking, I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and pulled him closer. I feel his tongue tracing my bottom lip and I open eagerly to accept him. He tastes delicious, like honey and warmth and something all Edward. _

_Breaking the kiss off, he begins to trail little kisses down the side of my neck, I arch back, to give him better access. He reaches down to grasp my leg and pull it up over his hip. In doing so, I can feel his cock hitting right against my core. I buck up into him, hoping he'd get the hint. Message received. He begins a slow grind into me, his mouth sucking and nipping up and down my neck. Kissing a path back up to my mouth, he grabs, my other leg, and pulls it up, so that now both my legs are wrapped around his middle. Next thing I know, we're on the couch, me straddling him with his hands on my hips, guiding me over his clothed cock. The need to breathe becomes an issue once again so he reluctantly leaves my mouth and makes his way, this time down the front of my neck and keeps going till he reaches my breasts. He glances up quickly, silently asking for permission, I nod, speech is nowhere to be found right now. Gently he cups my left breast with one hand, kneading it at first, and then he's pulling my shirt and bra down next. I gasp when I feel his lips on my nipple. He flicks it with his tongue a few times before suckling gently. He keeps that pattern up, flick, flick, suck, flick, flick, suck. My hips are still keeping up a steady rhythm, I can feel the coiling in my lower belly begin, Looking down at Edward, I see that he's got his mouth on my other breast now, The feel of him there is almost too much, but not enough at the same time, I bring my hands to the back of his head, trying to hold him there, I speed up my hips, I'm so close now. "Yes, Edward, that feels so good" I hear myself say, I know I sound a little porno-tastic but hey the man's got a talented mouth. Sensing my need Edward bucks up into me; his hands now back on my hips, his mouth still at my breast. He's bucking up into me hard, I can hear myself crying out and moaning, begging for release, just as I'm about to scream from frustration, I feel Edward bite down on my nipple, as I feel him shudder under me and that's all it that's all it takes, Stars explode behind my closed eyelids, I collapse against him, only now, he feels too soft and very flat._

I open my eyes only to find myself alone, laying face down on my bead. _Shit_, I thought, _I just had a sex dream about Edward_._How in the hell am I supposed to face him now? Every time I look at him I'll his mouth on me, that look that say's I want to devour you. It'll be like I have a permanent blush around him. Fan-flippin-tastic! _I really need to quit reading trashy romance novels before bed. Rolling over I glance at the clock. There's no sense in trying to go back to sleep now. I have to be up in 45 minutes anyway. I sit up and for the first time notice how sweaty I am. Deciding on a shower before anything else, I made my way into the bathroom. Turning on the water I stripped my sleep clothes off. I glance in the mirror at my naked form. I have to admit time thus far and child birth had been good to my body. Growing up, I had always had smaller breasts then most girls but breast feeding took care of that. I was fortunate enough to be able to loose all my pregnancy weight after Ethan and while I did get stretch marks, in most light they aren't noticeable now, unless you're looking for them. After glancing at my body for a few more seconds, I hop in the shower. Letting the hot water cascade over me I can't help but think back to that dream. I don't remember my night with Edward, but I have to admit if that's what it felt like in my dreams, imagine what real Edward could make me feel, with his long fingers and god, that tongue...

_No._

_It was just a dream; people have sex dreams all the time. It doesn't mean anything. Edward and I are just friends, and that's how it will stay._

Even my subconscious didn't sound convinced. I quickly finished up, wrapping a towel around my body and one around my hair I made my way back to my bedroom. I paused mid-step when I smelled coffee. Wondering if Alice was here for some reason, I made my way into the living room, and then stopped in my tracks. _Edward coming over for dinner last night, him staying here late. Me, offering him the couch since he was tired. _I peered over the back side of the couch only to see that he wasn't there. I hear a throat clear and I feel my cheeks heat up. Slowly I bring my head up, to see Edward standing in the entrance to the kitchen, coffee cup in hand and stunned look on his face. I can't seem to move, I'm stuck staring at him like an idiot, and apparently so is he. I get a brief flashback to my dream, it's his expression, his eyes are dark and predatory again. I need to get out of here. Gripping my towel, I back towards my door.

"I'm just…um, yea. I'll be right back." Turning around, I damn near run into my door in my haste to get away, once I'm safely inside with the door shut, I flop down on my bed and cover my eyes. _Holy fuck, he just saw me practically naked. OH MY GOD! I hope he didn't hear any of my dreams last night, I know I talk in my sleep. I know what I'll do; I'll just stay in here forever! There's no way I can face him now anyways. But then, what about Ethan? Shit, OK so I can't cower in my closet for the rest of my life, but still the thought sounds nice…_

EPOV

It'd been a week since I had taken Ethan to the zoo and things for the most part had been going great, Em and I have opened our practice and we've managed to hire some great support staff, and even after being open a few days things are running pretty smooth.

The only issue I've had hasn't been with work, it lies with my parents. True to there word they arrived in Seattle two days after I talked to them on the phone. We all agreed to meet up at my condo for dinner seeing as I had more room. Bella volunteered to cook for everyone despite my protests that we could just have something catered. Bella went all out for the meal, hoping to maybe butter them up slightly so they wouldn't be too mad at her, I assured her they wouldn't burn her at the steak or anything, but she refused to believe me.

They adored Ethan, how could you not? But with Bella they were a bit more reserved, I think it steamed more from not knowing really what to say to her, my parents would never be openly rude to anyone. But you could tell my mother especially held a little contempt when it came to withholding a grandchild from her. But, I'm fairly confident, given time they'll all warm up to her. By the end of the night, my Dad was resistant to her charms.

Bella really is an amazing person. She's smart, and funny, not to mention gorgeous. I've been coming over every day and eating dinner and spending time with not only Ethan but Bella as well, after Ethan goes to sleep. We just talk about any and everything, its amazing how comfortable we are with each other after such a short amount of time. Last night though, we had been talking for a while and when we looked up at the clock it was past 2. Bella offered for me to stay, and seeing how long a day I had at work, driving home didn't really appeal seeing how tired I suddenly felt. I feel asleep quickly only to be awoken what seemed like minutes later to a noise. Getting up, I walked closer to where I thought the source of the noise would have been coming from, that's when I heard it. "Yes, Edward, that feels so good." HOLY FUCK! Bella was dreaming about me, and from the sounds of it, its not just any dream. Around that time, I became painfully, I might add, aware of my morning wood, which now was in full erection mode and begging to get out. Quickly, but quietly I walked away from Bella's bedroom door, I went into the kitchen in search for coffee supplies. There was no way in hell I was getting back to sleep. Especially after hearing that! I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. Bella was having a sex dream about me. The inner teenage boy in me wanted to whoop and holler and fist pump the air. I didn't however. I stood there waiting for the coffee to brew and willed away my erection. After a few minutes, I heard a door open then another close followed by the shower starting. Bella, naked in the shower. Shit, erection's back full force now. Fixing myself a cup of coffee and trying to think about anything but Bella, and showers, I started to make my way back out to the living room. I had just gotten to the entrance of the kitchen when I was stopped in my tracks. There Bella stood, in nothing but a towel, her legs and and arms still slightly wet and glistening. I was trying every trick I could think of to keep my cock down, but it was doing no good. At this point I figured I had two choices, grab her bend her over the nearest flat surface and fuck the hell out of her. Or take the mother of all cold showers. Option one seemed favorable, judging by Bella's dream this morning, I don't think she'd disagree, my mother however raised a gentleman so it looks like cold shower it is. By the time my mind came back into the present, Bella was back in her room. Not wanting to just use her shower without permission, I knock on her bedroom door.

"Bella, is it ok if I use your shower real quick?" I heard shuffling before she pulled her door open. Without looking at me she responded.

"Yea, there's an extra toothbrush in the drawer under the sink and you can use Ethan's shampoo and body wash, it's for men. He refuses to use kid's brand." She still hadn't looked at me. Surely she can't be embarrassed. She has a gorgeous body and nothing to be ashamed of.

"Bella, look at me." Nothing. I grasped her chin and slowly brought her face up so I could see her eyes.

"That's better. Bella, don't worry about this morning. You have a gorgeous body, so don't be embarrassed, it's not like I saw anything ok? Besides we have a child together, I think you walking around in a towel is something we should probably be passed, don't you?" She nodded her head but didn't seem convinced. Deciding to lighten up the mood a bit, I joked,

"If it'll make you feel better, I'll let you catch me in nothing but a towel, just so we're even, ok?" That seemed to do it. She giggled but then bit her bottom lip and looked up at me through her lashes. Fuck. This morning I seem to have permanent hard-on when around her, hell even just thinking about her. With my hand still on her chin, I reached up with my thumb to pull her bottom lip out from between her teeth.

"You shouldn't bite your lip like that." God, I want to reach down and bite her lip for her whenever I see that. I hear Bella's soft gasp followed by her breathing picking up slightly.

I look back up from her lip to her eyes. They capture me. I can't look away from them. I know I can feel myself moving towards her, or maybe she's moving towards me, I'm not really sure, all I know is this gap needs to be closed quicker. Just as I feel her soft lips against mine, I hear a door open followed by feet moving down the hall. Whatever spell, we were under has been broken and I can't help but be disappointed. Stepping back from her, I look over to see Ethan disappear into the bathroom, shutting the door. I look back at Bella, she's still staring at me with a glazed over look. Stepping closer to her, I gather what I want to say.

"Bella, I…" I was cut off by her lips crashing into mine. It was short, but the meaning behind it was huge. Were we really going to try something? Did she want that with me? I had so many questions; I know a serious discussion needed to happen before we moved forward. It wasn't just us we had to think about. I looked back at Bella, she seemed stunned, but there wouldn't be any discussions right now. The bathroom door opened back up and Ethan looked between the two of us for a few seconds longer then necessary and I swear I saw my own trademarked smirk on his face before giving us a quick good morning and taking back off to his room to get dressed.

Not wanting to waste this opportunity, I said,

"I know we need to talk about everything. I just wanted you to know that I don't regret that kiss, and I hope you don't either. I want to try and be with you, so maybe Friday we can go out and have dinner? I only have half a day then, so I'll be done by 3. We can discuss where things are going and we can have time to be with each other by ourselves? I want this to be a date, but if you're not comfortable with that it doesn't have to be." At this point I was grasping at straws. I think I would have done just about anything to get her to agree. But finally after what seemed like hours but was only seconds, a slow smile crept up on her face, morphing into a full on grin.

"I want it to be, and what time will you be here?"

**A/N: So, how was it? Let me know, also, I'm still on the look out for a Beta, I re-read this before posting but I don't always catch my mistakes, So if you want to beta this for me, send me a PM!**


	9. Daisies and Conversations

**A/N: sorry for disappearing last week! Colds can be a bitch, especially when my allergies were already kicking my ass on top of it all. So, I won't say much more, just read on and I'll see you at the bottom!**

**-Jenny**

BPOV

Glancing at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time today, I noted that it was only 5:45. Edward would be here in 15 minutes for our date. The butterflies erupted again in my stomach at that thought. Never in a million years did I think I'd be doing this, granted it's only the first date, but still, going out with him wasn't what had me on edge at first, it was our inquisitive son after Edward left that morning. The front door was barely closed before the first question began.

"_So, mom." He stood there arms folded and a blank expression on his face._

_Clearing my throat nervously, I fidgeted with my hands. 'God, I'm afraid of my 9 year old. Get it together Swan!'_

"_So...Did you need something?" I knew what he wanted but, I'll be damned if I brought it up. I don't even know for sure what 'it' is so, right now, I'll go for avoidance._

_Rolling his eyes, he huffed and stated. "I saw you and dad kissing this morning." My breath still caught a little when I heard Ethan refer to Edward as Dad. He didn't make a scene out of it; he just sort of slid into it, as if he'd called him that all his life. _

"_Are you ok with that?" I couldn't make myself say the word 'kissing'; talking about it with my son seemed weird, I'm sure he thought it was gross anyway. I crossed over to the couch and patted the cushion next to me. This conversation is more then likely going to be uncomfortable, might as well make us as physically comfortable as possible. _

"_I'm ok with it mom. I mean, I don't want you to do it around me all the time cause' that's just gross, but, its ok if you do it, he is my dad. Does this mean you're going to get married now? Cause, I know married people do that all the time. Will I get a baby brother too? I don't think I want a sister, they're gross."_

_My head was spinning; he'd gotten all that just because we'd kissed? Where do kids come up with this stuff? Shaking my head slightly, I took a deep breath. How to answer him without putting anymore ideas into his overworked imagination? Best just to stick with the truth, I think. God, I wish Edward was here to help with this! _

"_No, Eth, it doesn't mean we'll get married. We are however going to go out on a date Friday. Edwards going to see about having you stay with his mom and dad while we go out. As for a baby, we'll if that ever happens I promise you'll be one of the first people to know, but as of right now, that's no where near happening." Hopefully that appeases him. I really don't want to have 'the talk' with him now. Besides I totally planned on foisting that little task off to Edward, he just didn't know it yet! _

_Ethan sat there thinking over what I said, after a few minutes he lifted his head, "So, this doesn't mean that one day you might not get married right?" I'll admit, its kind of weird, he's never been this concerned over me getting married before. _

"_Why are you so set on this for, kiddo? You've never been strong on the idea of me getting married before. Why now?" I studied my son, he's normally so confident, now, he looks nervous and flushed, and even the tips of his ears were red. "You know, you can tell me anything, right? We've always told each other everything."_

_He looked up at me, chewing on the inside of his lip, then ran his hand through his hair, sighing he said, "I want us to be a family mom. Now that I have my dad, I want us all to be together. All my other friends live with there dads and I want that too." He mumbled the last part that had there been any other noise in the apartment, I might not have heard him. I did though and it brought tears to my eyes. Looking at him, he seemed so small then, he was avoiding looking at my eyes and his shoulders were hunched over. I quickly pulled him onto my lap and held him. He wrapped his arms around my neck and snuggled in. _

"_Ethan, baby, I'm so sorry I didn't tell your dad sooner about you. I had no idea you felt like you were missing out. Know, that he and I will do what ever it takes to make sure you won't feel like that again, ok? I love you so much and it hurts me when you're hurting. He nodded and held me tighter. I had called Edward that night and talked to him about what Ethan had said. I couldn't see him, but I heard it in his voice. It made him hurt just as much as I did. He, of course tried to take the blame for it, but I wouldn't let him. None of it was his fault, I mean, how could he have known? He's not a mind reader. Even if he was I doubt it would of spanned over 3,000 miles. We agreed to spend as much time together with him as possible, weather it be at his place or mine at least for right now, he said. I'm not sure what 'for right now' meant but until something changed I wasn't going to worry about it._

I was brought out of my thoughts by a knock at my door. Getting up, I glanced at a mirror by the door to check my dress and make-up. Even several days later, thinking about what Ethan said still brought tears to my eyes.

I opened the door after unlatching the chain and what I saw made me stop dead. _Holy fuck. _It should be a crime for this man to look as gorgeous as he does. He was standing there, in dark grey dress pants, a baby blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, holding several daisies of various colors wrapped up in a neat bouquet. Pulling myself out of my Edward induced stupor I invited him in. He handed me the flowers, with a smile on his face.

"I wanted to get you something other then roses, I figured that was a little over done and I wanted tonight to be special, I mean this is the start of something new and I wanted you to remember it so I thought these would stand out more then roses would." I giggled a little. He was so cute when he rambled on and got nervous, it made him that much more attractive to know that even Edward Cullen got nervous over a girl.

"These are wonderful, Edward, thank you. I'll go put them in some water and then we can go, ok?" He nodded and I disappeared into the kitchen I was rooting around under the sink for a vase when I heard a noise behind me, finally locating the missing vase I stood up and turned around. Edward was there, arms crossed leaning against the entry way to the kitchen with a smirk on his face, two guesses what he was looking at. My cheeks pinked slightly, "Enjoying the view?" I managed to get out, surprisingly I managed to sound somewhat normal, not at all how I was feeling right now however. Pushing himself off the wall he made his way over to me, I was still holding the vase, when he reached me, he took it from my hands and set in on the counter behind me. At this point I was backed all the way to the counter and Edward kept getting closer, with either hand on the counter behind me, his body was flush to mine, I could feel every inch that was pressed up against me. Looking up at him, he still wore that smirk.

"I was enjoying the view, but I like this much better." With that, his lips swooped down and captured mine. I was stunned but only for a moment, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my hands in his hair. Kissing him was easy, there wasn't any awkwardness between us. He kissed me like he'd been doing it all his life. he nibbled my bottom lip then soothed it with his tongue. I felt his hand move from my back making a slow trail up to my shoulders, then finally to my face, he slowed his kisses down then, cupping my face in his hands, he worshiped my mouth with his. The need to breath won over, and he regrettably stopped with three quick pecks then laid his forehead on mine.

"I've been waiting all week to do that." He breathed.

I looked up at him, even with his close proximity I could still see him, his eyes were closed and like me, he was struggling to catch his breath. Breaking contact with his forehead I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his chest. He smelled so good, he felt so good, his arms wrapped themselves around me, and we stood there in my kitchen silently, I think we were both afraid to speak, for fear that we might ruin the moment with words. I felt one of his arms leave me and I looked up at him. He brushed a piece of hair away from my face then touched my cheek with the tips of his fingers.

"What's going on in that head of yours, beautiful?"

I grinned at the name, he'd started calling me that ever since our first kiss that morning. I liked it. No one's ever called me that before and the fact that Edward does makes it all the more better.

"Just thinking how good having your arms wrapped around me feels. How easy kissing you was." Amazingly enough I said that without blushing once. It must be Edward, I think with him I can be more of myself. I'd of never been able to say that to any other guy without turning 50 shades of red. Edward grinned at me and his grip tightened, not that I minded. He kissed me again, this time more chastely and led me towards the door.

"Come on, I've got the night planned out, and as much as I'd like to stay here all night a kiss you senseless, all my hard work would be for naught."

I laughed, "We can't have that now, can we? Lead the way, good sir!" He offered his arm and I looped mine through his as we made our way outside to his car. As we stepped outside I looked for the Volvo, not seeing it. Edward steered me a few feet away toward a black sleek car that I'd never seen before.

"Where's your Volvo? Did you trade it in or something?" Edward laughed slightly.

"No, I guess I have 2 cars technically, I don't drive this one except for special occasions, I was a graduation present from my dad. Emmett got one too." The car looked expensive and fast. I was almost afraid to sit in it.

"What kind of car is it?" I had no clue about cars but, I figured it was the polite thing to ask.

"An Aston Martin" He spoke the name with an almost reverence. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Boys and there toys.

"So, where are we going?" He'd been quiet about what we were doing, only giving in to Alice so she could help me dress for tonight.

"Nope, still not telling, you'll find out when we get there!"

**Next chapter up sometime tomorrow, hopefully! I just wanted to give you guys a little something! As always leave me some love and Welcome to any new readers! **


	10. First Dates and Tears

**A/N: So sorry about the update fail last Sunday. So, I'll shut up and let you all read now! See you at the bottom!**

******Disclaimer: I don't own twilight, so any of those characters used in this story belong to Stephanie Meyer not me!**

**EPOV**

I had decided on the Purple Café and Wine Bar for our first date. I figured low key and relaxed was a good way to go. I could of went all out and did a five star restraint but, knowing Bella as well as I think I do, simple was the way to go with her, for a first date at least, she'd want the more pricy restraints saved for special occasions. After parking in the underground garage, I could tell Bella knew where we were going and she looked excited about it.

"So, I take it you approve of my dinning choice?" I smirked, she never looked so gorgeous, she was smiling and nodding.

"Yes! I've wanted to go here for a while but, this isn't a place you can generally take a child so…" She trailed off, every time she mentions not getting to do something because of having to take care of Ethan makes my heart hurt. I know she does it without complaint but it still hurts to know she's missed out on so much because I wasn't there. She must have realized what I was thinking about because she cupped my face and ran her thumb across my cheek.

"None of that now, I know what you're thinking and whatever it is, it's wrong, so stop. I have no complaints about raising Ethan, I was just making a statement about why I've never been here, not to guilt trip you or anything, besides it's my own fault." Now she was the one that looked sad. We can't have this on our date so I decided to lighten the mood some.

"So, me thinking you look simply delectable in that dress is wrong? Cause that's what I was thinking, I don't know what you thought I was thinking about." I gave her my crooked smile and raised an eyebrow. She took the hint and laughed, god how I love that sound.

"Ok, enough of the heavy lets go eat. I know we need to talk some but how about we hold off on that until after dinner, we can go back to either my place or yours?" I stated it as a question because I knew we did need to talk about how we were going to proceed with Ethan and our new relationship with one another, we both know it's not going to be easy, his 9 year old mind will be spinning simple gestures and over heard conversations into god know what. We did decide that we aren't going to hide anything from him but at the same time make sure he knows that this doesn't necessarily mean that we're getting married and having babies. But, that we are a family. _A family that doesn't live together._ Yea, that's my only issue, I wanted to talk to Bella about maybe having her and Ethan move in with me in the near future. Even if something happens to Bella and I and we don't end up together like that. I have more then enough room and she could even have her own space, that way we can raise Ethan together under the same roof.

Opening my car door up to get out, I look over at Bella,

"Don't even think about touching the door handle over there." I mock glared at her hand that had already reached for the handle. She giggled and retracted her hand, I got out and shut my door and ran around to her side to let her out. Opening her door, I offered her my hand to help her out. Bella grinned at the gesture, "Why, thank you good sir." She said then kissed my cheek. I shook my head at her then told her, "My mom taught me to be a gentleman; she'd be appalled if I didn't at least open my dates car door for her!" She really would too, and I'll be honest, my mother scares me when she's mad, so always do what momma tells you to!

I offered Bella my arm, she slid hers through mine and we made our way up to the wine bar. I had gotten online earlier and reserved us a table so we didn't have long to wait, thankfully. Perusing the menu, we both decided to have a glass of wine with dinner, for an appetizer, we ordered the Wild Mushroom Bruschetta. Then for Entrées we decided to share the Margherita pizza. Secretly I was glad we didn't order one of the pizza's heavy on garlic or onion because personally I planned on kissing Bella a hell of a lot more tonight, and who wants to do that with garlicky onion breath? I'd still kiss her regardless, but man; even breath mints can't get that funk out of your mouth. I decided that since this was a first date, that first date etiquette needed to be followed.

" So, I know we already know quite a bit about each other but seeing as this is a first date, we should still try and get to know each other better, so how about twenty questions?" She pondered it, for a bit before agreeing, only on the condition that she goes first. I readily agreed.

"OK, how many steady girlfriends have you had since college?" She raised an eyebrow after she asked waiting for my answer. Well shit, she doesn't start off easy that's for sure.

"One, we were together my sophomore year of college but broke up over summer break. The rest of the time, I mainly focused on school and then medical school so, I didn't really have time for girlfriends, or relationships in general. And I'm happy to report said ex-girlfriend is happily married now with children, so no need to worry about any crazy ex's stalking me." She nodded seeming satisfied with my answer. She did crack a smile at my last statement about stalkers too, but it didn't get the laugh I was hoping for.

"OK, my turn, same question, how many serious relationships have you had since high school." She snorted at that then after it blushed, realizing that we were in a crowded place and that several people had heard the snort. But she continued on,

"I had a few dates in the first year or two after Ethan was born but usually as soon as they found out about Ethan they couldn't get away fast enough. But, don't worry about it, I don't have any regrets, I always had Eth to go home to and that was enough." She smiled sadly but quickly changed it to a more sincere smile, I could tell she was trying to hide the pain of it all though.

"OK, we're getting into, heavy territory again, so let's lighten things, up, what was your funniest memory during college?"

I dove into a tale of drinking, light sabers and Chewbacca masks and had her laughing her ass off in seconds. We continued this way for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only less then two. After settling the bill we made our way back to the car where I once again opened the door for Bella before getting in on my own side. Now to decide whose place we were going to.

"So, your place or mine?" She worried her bottom lip for a second contemplating whose to go to. Making a decision she said, " You know, if this had been a traditional first date and I didn't know anything about you, that line would instantly make me think you had other intentions with me." She was smirking now, barely suppressing a giggle. "However seeing as I know what you mean, lets go to your place, we're hardly ever there. We're always at my place and it feels like we're neglecting yours." I shrugged my shoulders, I didn't really care if I was at my place or not. Just as long as Ethan and Bella were with me, that's what home was to me, even if it meant crashing on a couch some nights.

"That's fine, we can go to my place, and just so you know, I don't care where I'm at, I just want to be with you and Ethan. That's where home is to me." I told her softly. I could see tears beginning to pool in her eyes, and I brought my thumb up to her cheek prepared to catch them, but I never got the chance. Bella leaned over and claimed my lips in a searing kiss. Not one to hold back, I returned it eagerly, grabbing her face with both hands; I swiped my tongue over her bottom lip begging for entrance which she gave readily. Our tongues began a dance, there was no dominate we were mingling together, just savoring and enjoying each other. After breaking apart for air, I rested my forehead against hers, we were both trying to catch our breath but I found enough oxygen to speak.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" I rubbed my nose against her, wanting just to have as much contact as possible for the moment.

"After what you said, I just couldn't help it. You just seem to know the right words to say and the fact that you accepted us so easily, when you didn't have to, it makes my heart melt, as cheesy as that sounds. I feel like with you, there isn't anything we can't over come now." I knew the feeling well, these past weeks with Ethan and Bella have forever changed me and now, I feel like I have a purpose in life, I've always wanted to be a Doctor and now that I've accomplished this, the role of Dad just fell into my lap one day and most probably would have been freaked out about it but, to me it just seemed right.

"Let's get going back to my place, I do want to discuss something with you, and it's kind of important but I think for us, it might be a good step." Cryptic I know, and by the look Bella was giving me, she felt the same way.

"It's nothing bad, I promise, I've just had this idea floating in my head for a few days that I want to talk to you about, can you trust me, please?" I implored her with my eyes; I really didn't want to discuss this in my car in a parking garage. She nodded and we began the drive to my place.

Unlocking the front door, we entered, and made our way to the living room, thanks to mom I had my house fully furnished and decorated, it was what would essentially be a bachelors pad, with dark colors and slick lines, if my plan worked I'd have Bella decorate to her tastes too, so it didn't looks so manly. I offered her something to drink and she accepted a glass of white wine. After taking a sip she set it on the table and I did the same with my beer.

"So, what's this idea of yours I have to say I'm a bit intrigued." I took a minute to gather my thoughts; I wanted to ease into this conversation, rather then blurt it out and send her running scared.

"Well, let me begin with a question if I may?" She nodded impatiently.

"When will your lease be up?" She tensed at that question but answered anyway.

"In a few months, I only renewed for six months this time because I was going to start house hunting, with Ethan getting bigger, I wanted him to have a yard to play in and a place to ride a bike and all that. Why are you asking anyways?"

_Here goes nothing._ I thought.

"Well, why don't we use that two months to see where everything goes with us, then if at the end of those two months, we like where we are relationship wise we think about living together." I could tell she was about to say something, so I quickly interjected. "Just hear me out completely before you say anything, please?" She closed her mouth; I could see her jaw muscles working. She finally nodded. I took her hand in mine; she tensed but only for a second.

"I want us to be a family, and to me a real family doesn't live in two separate houses. They live together. You could have your own room if you wanted, we could look at houses together, or after your lease is up you and Ethan could move into here for a bit to see how living together works, then look for a house. Its up to you, I just want us to be together. I would of suggested this I think, regardless of if we were in a relationship or not. I love being with you guys and when I'm away I feel like a part of me is missing. Will you at least think about it, for me? Don't just flat out say no, maybe we can even run it by Ethan too, although I think I know what his answer would be." At this she smiled. She nodded a bit, seeming to come to some sort of resolve in her mind.

"Can I ask some questions?" I wanted to say know, I had a feeling they were going to be negative but, in order to move forward, we need to get this out of the way. "Of course."

"OK, I'm not saying it will happen but, what if something happens between us, and we get into a big huge fight and decide that living together isn't for us and we can't stand each other then what happens to me? I know you'll be paying for most of any house we get, I'll accept that, only because I will be help out with most of the bills." She left no room for argument for that, judging just by the tone of her voice. "I'd never take the house from you, that leaves me with no where to go." It's a valid concern, I'll give her that, luckily I already thought of it.

"Well, I've thought of that and what I'd like to do is split the money I get from the sale of the condo and put half in an account for you and use the other half to start up a college fund for Ethan." I didn't look at her the whole time I said this, truth be told I had no idea what her reaction would be to this piece of news. I chanced a look at her and was surprised by what I saw, her mouth was hanging open and she looked at me with round eyes, I don't think she really knew what to say. I waited for her to say something after a few minutes, of silence I implored her to answer.

"Bella, baby, please say something. You're killing me with the silence." I didn't have to wait long. She launched herself across the couch to me and kissed me with a passion I had yet to see from her. "You" Kiss "Are" kiss "The" kiss "Most" kiss "Thoughtful" kiss "Person" kiss "Ever" kiss. She kissed me on the lips again, nibbling and then soothing it with her tongue, unable to be sidelined in this anymore, I grabbed her hips and had her straddle me, she stopped kissing me then and I thought that maybe I'd pushed her too far. I went to apologize but she stopped me with a finger to my lips.

"I don't know if I could accept that offer though Edward. It's your money and I'd rather it all go to Ethan if anything. You don't owe me anything and just looking at this place I know it won't sell for under a million and even half of that is more then I'd know what to do with, I just don't know how I could in good conscious ever except something that large regardless if we broke up or not." I shook my head, did this woman know, I'd do anything for her? Not only because she was the mother of my child, she was just such a good person, and someone I could see myself growing to love one day.

"Its just money Bella, and even if we did break up, I'd still care enough about you to make sure you were taken care of. You're the mother of my child and that alone gives us such a strong bond to one another, besides that, you're a good person and making sure you're taken care of would be the least I could do. You've had to do so much on your own, and I want to do what I can now to help you with that. I want to take care of you, please, let me do that?" I stared into her eyes, which were filling with tears, a few escaped and I caught them with my fingers, brushing them aside. I pulled her to me as she openly cried now, her body shaking with sobs. I held her and rubbed her back making soothing noises. After a bit, she quieted down; I thought she had gone to sleep so I gently pushed her forward a bit to check, but her eyes were still open. She looked at me with such a strong emotion, that I couldn't help but lean down and kiss her lips, they tasted of salt from her tears but I didn't care. I couldn't let her go home tonight, I needed her near me.

"Stay with me tonight? I promise to behave, but I don't want to let you go right now." I brushed the remaining moisture off her face with my thumb while awaiting her answer. She nodded then answered with a hoarse "Yes."

I picked her up and cradled her in my arms as I made my way towards my bed room. I sat her on the bed then rifled through my drawers for something for her to sleep in. I pulled out a t-shirt from college and a pair of sweats.

"I think this is all I have that will fit you." She smiled and took the clothes.

"This is perfect. I'll be right back." She shut the bathroom door and I quickly pulled out some rarely used sleep pants, seeing as I normally slept nude. and a wife beater. I sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her to be done in the bathroom so I could brush my teeth. She came out a moment later, in just the t-shirt. She was blushing crimson and looking down at her feet. Moving over to her, I tilted her chin up so her eyes could meet mine.

"I normally don't sleep in anything but shorts, because I get hot at night, I hope this is ok?" She cute little face was still beet red but that only made her more adorable to me. Kissing her nose I said, "You're perfect, go climb into bed, I'll meet you there in a second."

Brushing my teeth took longer then normal, mostly because I was trying to calm my raging hard-on. after thinking up every gross thing imaginable it went away and I made my way back into the bedroom. I found Bella on the left side, which was good cause I normally slept on the right.  
>"I hope i'm ok on this side, I normally sleep on the left, so..." She trailed off, "Your fine, I usually sleep on the right. Crawling into bed I pulled her to me after shutting off the light, Her head was on my shoulder with her arm draped across my torso. I wrapped my around her back and held her close. " Sweet dreams, beautiful." I Felt her smile against me. "Good night, Edward."<p>

**A/N: So, this is my longest chapter yet, hope you all enjoyed it! Reading last chapter and how Ethan was talking about having siblings got me thinking about how my parents told me I was getting another sibling. Being the oldest in a combined family, I was 15 when I found out we were getting a little sister. I already had 1 biological brother(13), a step-brother(11) and 2 step-sisters(9)&(7), ****I felt like the live in Nanny rather then just another kid in the house so, suffice it to say I didn't handle the news well, not to mention they didn't tell us in the best way. We were sitting down to eat dinner, then right in the middle of it he threw down 6 ultrasound pictures and asked if we knew what they were, my siblings all shook there heads no, but I knew what they were, I was just ignoring it, as I took a drink of my drink he announced, "That's the baby girl we're going to have in 4 months" I proceeded to spit my drink all over my brother who was sitting across from me. Then about a year and a half later, they did the same thing when they announced my mom was pregnant with my little brother. At the time I was pissed off and more then a little grossed out, I mean who wants to think about what has to happen for you mother to get pregnant. YUCK! But, even though at the time, I was less then thrilled, my little brother and sister are awesome, they're 9 and 7 now and I'm 25. So my question to you is if you have any younger siblings, how did your parents tell you? Were you excited, freaked out? or just plain grossed out thinking about your parents doing the nasty? Till next time! Love you all thanks for reading!**

**-Jenny**


	11. Morning Lovin and Almost Decisions

**A/N: Well, this story finally has a beta, so everyone graciously thank LastH00rStanding for taking on this crazy job! See you at the bottom!**

**-Jenny**

BPOV

I woke up the next morning wrapped up in a cocoon of delicious smelling man. Not only was his leg thrown over mine, his right hand was firmly holding my left breast. Apparently Edward Cullen was a sleep groper. Trying to pry myself out of my Edward cocoon only made him hold on tighter until his hold on my boob was a full out knead. To say I was getting turned on would be a big understatement. I finally managed to get free and make it to the bathroom. After taking care of business - which included brushing my teeth via the un-opened toothbrush sitting out on the counter - I made my way back to bed, only to find Edward turned in the opposite direction. Climbing back into bed, I scooted up behind him and wrapped my arm around his front. I gave a quick kiss to his head and fell back asleep, only to be woken up - after what felt like just moments - by an exploring Edward.

"Good morning, beautiful." His greeting was somewhat muffled since his head was buried somewhere between my neck and shoulder. Slowly, he kissed back up my neck to my lips. We went at it like this for a bit, kissing and making out like two teenagers in the back seat of a car until I remembered where we were - in the middle of a rather large bed. Quickly forming an idea, I started pulling on him to let him know I wanted him on top of me. He complied easily, but the gentleman in him made sure it was what I wanted.

"Are you sure, Bella? I don't want to push you too far." I really loved the gentleman, but at that moment I wanted horny Edward.

"Positive. I'll tell you to stop if I think it's going too far…I promise." With that said, I wrapped my legs around him, grinding my wet center up into him.

EPOV

God, I swear Bella was trying to kill me. I don't know where this sexy Bella came from, but I hope she makes frequent appearances. Grinding myself back into Bella, I let my hands wander. Slowly I moved my hand down her side to her hip; the skin exposed from her shirt riding up during sleep. I softly caressed her skin, working my way lower with each rub, and unhooked her legs from around me. I made my way further down with my mouth, stopping to pay attention to her breasts.

Reluctantly, my lips left her skin to seek permission to remove her shirt. She gave it with a nod and I wasted no time removing the offending fabric. She started to cover herself up, but I quickly stopped her, grabbing her wrists as I said: "You're so beautiful…please don't hide yourself from me." She moved her hands away, laying them at her sides as I moved to her left and resumed my exploration. Starting with her face, I ran my fingertips over her cheeks to her lips, then down her chin to her chest. Once again I felt the need to explore with my mouth, kissing from her collarbone down the middle of her breasts and then outward. Her nipples were standing at attention - just begging to be licked - so I wrapped my lips around one of the pert little buds and gave it a flick with my tongue. She arched her back, and let out a breathy little moan that had my already-hard cock throbbing.

Taking that moan as the green light to continue, I hovered back over her, momentarily breaking the hold I had on her nipple. Pushing her legs apart, I settled in between them, feeling the heat she was giving off between her legs. _God, I'm almost glad I don't remember the one time we were together. I don't think I'd be able to hold back now if I did. _

Amazing sensations swept over me as I pushed my hips against her thigh causing the most delightful friction ever. Nothing would compare to being inside her - of this I was very sure - but for now this would have to do. Going back to her breasts, I continued to explore and tease them with kisses, licks, and soft little nibbles. Bella was a panting mess by then, and I have to say I wasn't too far from her. She grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me up to her lips while grinding her pelvis back into me. Moving my hand down, I rubbed her inner thigh, inching my thumb under the edge of her panties but giving her a chance to stop me. I waited, and when no resistance came I moved my thumb again in search of that little nub. I rubbed slow, tight circles over her most sensitive spot, teasing her and making her moan louder until it finally happened; she came with my name spilling from her lips, her hands holding me in a death grip. Removing my hand from her, I kissed her hard and bucked my hips into her a few more times before I too came, calling her name.

BPOV

_Dear God, if we ever have sex, I'm pretty sure I'll die from orgasm. _

Edward had excused himself to get cleaned up, but not before showing me to the guest bathroom so I too could shower and get changed. I had to put on my clothes from the night before, but at least my body would be clean. We were going to stop by my place before going to get Ethan from Edward's parents. It's actually a good thing we didn't do more then we did, because Ethan had called me on my cell not too long after we had finished. Could there be anything more awkward then having your kid call you in the middle of sex? Not that I would know, but it's not something I want to experience any time soon.

We were clean, fed and out the door an hour later. After a brief stop at my place for a change of clothes, we were back on the way to Edward's parents to pick up Ethan. Although Esme still hadn't warmed up to me all that well, I was at least on good terms with Daddy Cullen.

We pulled up to the house about twenty minutes later. The place was huge but at the same time gave a welcome feeling. Edward got out and came around to let me out. Walking up to the house Edward opened the door, and within five seconds of his loud, "We're here," we heard footsteps running towards us. Ethan launched himself at Edward, barely managing to balance himself before he fell into the wall behind us.

"Hey buddy, did you have a good time?" Jumping down, Ethan led us into the living room, chattering non-stop about what he did the night before. "It was so much fun. We made homemade pizzas last night then we watched movies on the big TV downstairs and had popcorn and candy. I can't wait to come back here!" We were both laughing at his enthusiasm and the way he described the "big TV" which was really the mini movie theater they have downstairs.

Esme came in then and offered us both drinks, which we declined. She was still somewhat cold towards me but - all things considered - it could have been much worse. We left a short while later with Esme promising that we were welcome to visit anytime. She gave all of us hugs; yes, myself included. Deciding not to go straight home, we ended up at the park. Edward and Ethan were throwing a football (that he just "_happened_ to have in his trunk") back and forth as I sat on a nearby bench. While I watched the two of them together, I couldn't help but think about Edward's offer. It really was a little early to decide one way or another, but I knew if I were to be impulsive my answer would be yes. I realized that Edward was right, that our living together would be better for Ethan - although after this morning I'm not sure how fond I was of the separate rooms idea. Maybe by then we'd be comfortable enough in our physical relationship to share a bed. There is, however, Ethan to think about. What would he think about us sharing a room? Would he think that it meant we'd be getting married?

I realized that the safest thing would be to talk to him about it. He's almost ten. I think we can be a little straighter with him about what we're thinking. Looking back up at them playing, I couldn't help but smile. There would be so many details to work out, but in the end, I think moving in together will be the right choice.

**A/N: I know its shorter then what i've been doing but, I figured at least I gave you all something to read, right? See you next time!**


	12. Workouts and Getting Caught

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry for the delay, work's been crazy! So, i'll say no more, mucho love to my beta LastH00rStanding for shinning this up for me! **

EPOV

It had been a few weeks since Bella and I had discussed moving in together. I figured I'd give her some time to sleep on it and really let it sink in, then we could discuss it more, and after hashing out all the details we'd tell Ethan. I was slightly nervous about it all, though. I mean, what if she didn't want to live together? We'd gotten along great since we started seeing each other more intimately. We still had yet to take that final step and have sex, but seeing as how our last encounter together brought about Ethan, I can see how holding off might be a good idea.

Needing to blow off some steam before going to Bella's for dinner, I decided to head to the gym. Tonight after Ethan went to sleep, we'd be discussing details and anything else she might be worried about and I wanted to go into that with a clear head.

Halfway through my workout, I looked up to see Jasper walking towards me. Setting the free weights down, I moved over towards the treadmill to finish off my workout. Jasper was moving my way, heading to the treadmill as well. I greeted him with a wave and began my pace at a light jog. Hopping on his treadmill, he started out slower than me, but picked up the pace quickly.

"How's it going Edward? It seems like I haven't seen you in a while. How are things going with Bella and Ethan?" I instantly felt bad. I had kind of neglected my friends a bit since finding out about Ethan. I mean, I do see Jasper from time to time because he's with Alice, but we've not had a guys' night in ages.

"I've been doing well. Work's been keeping me busy, and then when I'm not there I'm with Bella and Ethan, which is going really good. I um…I kind of asked Bella live with me…" I kind of let that little tid-bit sink in for a second; I wanted an outsider's opinion on what I had offered Bella. I was going to talk about it with Emmett or possibly my dad, but thinking about it now, they might be too close to the issue, being family and all.

"Can I ask why you want her to? I know you guys are together now, but isn't it a little quick to be shacking up?" I had a feeling this might be the conclusion some might jump to, but then again that's why I wanted to talk to someone, so I could get this figured out before I talked to Bella about it again.

"That's not my reasoning behind it at all...I want us to be a family. Yes, Bella and I being together is a major plus, but I would have suggested it even if we weren't. I want us to raise Ethan together, none of this going back and forth to different houses. I want to be there when even little inconsequential things happen. He's my son and I've already missed out on so much that I don't want to miss another damn thing - especially when it's so easy to remedy."

I admit that sometimes after my mind has gone off on its own I still think that maybe I should be mad at Bella for keeping Ethan from me. At the same time, I know that I can't. In the beginning I was angry, but after spending so much time with them it's hard to not love them. Wait...love? That word had been popping up more lately when I was talking about Bella or describing something that I enjoyed about her.

"Well, have you talked to Bella about any of it? You said you asked her, but how does she feel about it all?"

"We talked a little bit and she mentioned looking for a house for herself and Ethan. That's when I suggested they stay with me at the condo after her lease was up and then we could look at houses and find one for the three of us. I offered her a room of her own...anything she wanted, really. I just want us all under one roof. Bella didn't really say much about it, but we're going to talk later and sort out all the details. Then we're going to talk to Ethan about it and get his thoughts." Jasper didn't say anything at first; he just kept up his current pace while I worked to slow mine down. I could tell he was thinking things through. Jasper was always a good listener. He'd give you an honest opinion while taking both sides into account, and then help you reach a decision if needed.

"What happens if you and Bella don't work out?" Even with my slower pace, that question tripped me up, literally and figuratively. I righted myself quickly so I wouldn't fall and go flying off the back of the treadmill, and then stopped it completely before leaning against the front to give myself a second to get composed. I couldn't even think about the two of us not working out...it wasn't an option. I was in too deep with her now. If she left me, I don't think I'd recover. I'd let her go of course, but it's not going to come to that. I'll do everything in my power to make sure we work. I can't lose them now.

"I've already told Bella that when we find a house, the money I get from selling the condo will go into two accounts, one for Ethan's college and the other into an account with just her name on it. That way if we ever do…break up, she'll have enough money to get her own place." Jasper looked stunned. Whether it was from the idea itself or the thought that Bella might even consider it, I wasn't sure.

"Bella just willingly accepted that? I mean for herself...obviously she wouldn't turn down college money for Ethan." I smirked, thinking back to how Bella practically smothered me in kisses for just the idea.

"She wasn't as bad as you think. She's not sure she should accept it because of the amount, but she did agree to think about it. I can't tell you how badly I want this all to work, though. I'm falling for her and it's getting to the point now where I don't know what I did before I had them in my life." Shaking my head at my sappiness - in a fucking gym of all places - I grabbed my towel to wipe the sweat off my face.

Jasper stopped the treadmill, chuckling as he walked with me. "That's what being in love will do to ya. It's a wonderful thing but it can throw you for a loop occasionally. Just be yourself Edward and be honest with her about what you want. Listen to what she wants, then the two of you need to figure out what Ethan wants from this. Don't discount his feelings, that boy is smarter then all of us. Just between you and me, he might want you to be together more then you realize, so don't take anything lightly when it comes to his thoughts on your relationship with Bella." I nodded. Jasper was definitely the better choice to talk to.

"Thanks man, I appreciate you listening. I have to get going, but enjoy your workout. We need to plan a boys' night, maybe do something with Ethan during the day then afterwards you and I could go shoot some pool with Em, yea?" He nodded, already lifting a dumbbell.

"Sure man, just let me know and I'll be there. Good luck tonight."

I arrived at Bella's at my normal time. Tonight was stir-fry with egg rolls, one of my favorite meals that Bella makes. Walking up the steps and to her door, I knocked before entering and then jokingly said:

"Honey, I'm home!" I heard a giggle coming from the kitchen and a snort from the living room. The living room was closer so I headed there first. Ethan was sitting in his game chair - you know, the one with the built-in speakers that folds in half. I swear if I had had one of those when I was a kid, I would have never left the damned thing.

"Hey kiddo, how was school?" I ruffled his hair before sitting behind him on the couch.

"It was good. Stupid Jessica tried to kiss me though. Girls are so gross sometimes." I stifled a laugh, thinking, just give it a few years kid, you'll change your tune then.

"Well, I'm sorry some icky girl tried to kiss you...how terrible for you." He laughed at that, not taking his eyes off his game. I took that as, conversations over dad, leave me alone now, and headed into the kitchen. What I saw made me stop dead in my tracks.

She was standing there, swaying her hips back and forth to the music currently coming out of the speakers. Her hair was up, giving me a peek of her delicious neck and her jeans hugging her ass like a second skin. Unable to just stand there anymore, I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She jumped slightly, but I didn't scare her too bad it seemed. She was currently rolling the egg rolls and putting them on a pan to go into the oven. Turning her head slightly, she kissed my cheek before going back to preparing dinner.

"How was work?" I love how domesticated we'd become. Even though we weren't living together it felt like it.

"Fine, I managed to get out of there early. My last few appointments cancelled so I went to the gym. I need to work out more if you're going to keep feeding me like this!" I swear her cooking skills could rival Emeril. Yea, I watch the Food Network. Just because I can't cook doesn't mean I can't look at food on TV and wish I could eat it.

But anyway, back to Bella - or more specifically Bella's neck. It was practically calling my name and asking to be ravished. Slowly, I lowered my head and placed slow wet kisses on her pulse point, before trailing down even lower and going right back up. She tilted her head, giving me better access then said: "You keep that up and I'll never get dinner done on time." She made no move to stop me, so I took that as permission and kept going. Making sure she didn't have anything in her hands, I spun her around and planted my lips on hers. Kissing Bella had become a new favorite hobby. She always tasted amazing, either cherry from her chap stick or some taste from whatever she was currently munching on. She also had her own distinct flavor that was all Bella and I couldn't get enough of it. Running my hands down her back, I cupped her ass in my hands pressing her to me so she could see just how much I was affected by her. Her hands - which at that point had been clutching my biceps - made their way up and into my hair, holding me to her. We continued like this for several minutes, our kisses only broken up by our need to breath, but our mouths never parted. I finally broke away and kissed all up and down her jaw before descending to her neck again. We were brought out of our haze by a throat clearing. Freezing, we looked toward the noise and noticed our son in the doorway with a disgusted look on his face.

"Ya know I'm glad you guys are together, but no child wants to come into any room and see his parents making out. Yuck!" With that, he walked to the fridge, grabbed a drink, and walked back to the living room. When we heard the game click back on, we finally found the will to un-freeze. After staring at each other for a few seconds, I was surprised by Bella's snort, followed by a laugh, which in turn made me laugh.

"Oh my god! Did you see his face? We've scarred our child for life!" By now, her laughter was a full out giggle, which she seemed incapable of stopping. Her face was beet red, and she was clutching her sides. At this point I was laughing too. I'm not sure what was so funny, but just seeing Bella so tickled over it put a smile on my face.

Dinner wasn't awkward like I thought it might be after Ethan had walked in on us. That kid was pretty much the definition of cool. He'd already moved on from it and was acting like it never even happened. After dessert and fortune cookies, Ethan and I banished Bella to the living room while we handled clean up. We messed around and probably added to the mess before we got it all cleaned up but hey, doing dishes blows, so you might as well have fun with it when you can. Afterwards we went to the living room where Bella was sitting with a manuscript from work that she was editing. We decided on a movie to watch till Ethan's bedtime. Two hours later, Ethan was asleep and Bella and I were sitting on the couch snuggled up against each other. It was time to talk, time to get everything figured out so we could move forward. I knew Bella was my future. Now I just needed to convince her of it.


	13. Houses and Tickle Wars

BPOV

"Ok, so I don't know how this conversation is going to go, but I figured I'd let you start, you can put your pro's and con's and any concerns you might have and then I'll answer and we can maybe come to a solution?" Edward asked, seeming just as nervous as I am. I understand it though, if I agree to this, all our lives will be changing drastically. Taking a deep breath, I try and make sense of everything that is floating around in my head, trying to organize my thoughts though seemed to be impossible so I started with the easy one.

"I don't want you paying for everything. If we do this, it will be equal. I know you have way more money than I ever will, but I can't mooch off of you, I refuse to." That one right there was a deal breaker, even in high school, I had had a part time job so that I would have spending money. I didn't like taking it from people and to do so now would go against everything I've always taught Ethan about working for what you want.

Edward only nodded, but I had a feeling it wouldn't end there.

"Second, I think, that seeing as how our relationship has progressed, we would be ok sharing a room, only if you're agreeable that is." I could feel my cheeks heating at that statement. It was a simple enough request, but the undertones of it were not so innocent. I glance a look up and I see Edward smirking, I think he knew what had me blushing. I continued on.

"Third, I want a house, it was my plan all along for Ethan and I to live in a house, I had planned to start looking here soon for one for us. I want Ethan to be able to play outside without an adult and in his own front yard. Finally, I'll agree to you using the sale of the condo towards Ethan's college but I don't want the other half for me. If anything should happen to us, we'll deal with it then but I couldn't accept that money anymore then I could have you paying all the bills." There. I had said everything I had been thinking, now to hear what Edward wants.

EPOV

I'll say that I was defiantly surprised. I figured she'd have put up more resistance then what she did. I was expecting the 'we haven't been together long enough to be living together' speech but instead I get hit with the possibility of sharing a bed! I think it's safe to say that Bella will always keep me guessing, but that's one of the things I love about her. Yea, I said love. I wouldn't say I'm completely in love yet, but it's on a crash course for it for sure. My only hang up about all this is the money issue. Hopefully we can get all this resolved tonight so we can share with Ethan tomorrow.

"OK, your first thing is bills. How about I take care of the mortgage, power and water and you can take care of groceries and any other bills we might have like cable, cellphone and internet? I realize that it's not divided down the middle and not to sound like an ass but I do make more then you, please let me provide for my family, I'm already agreeing to you paying some of the bills." She chewed her lip for a second, eyeing me like she could see right through my soul. Seeming to have come to some kind of decision, she took a deep breath and nodded.

"OK, I'll agree to that, only since it's so important to you. I just don't like to feel like I'm not contributing, ok? So, I'll do all the cooking and any household chores as well. We don't need to hire a housekeeper since I can work from home most of the time anyways." Yea, Bella nearly flipped when she found out I had one. '_It's just you here and you're never really here anyways so why in the hell would you have a housekeeper for?' _ I just shrugged at her; we'd always had them so it made sense at the time.

"OK, you're second condition is sharing a room? Well, that doesn't really need to be discussed now does it? I'm sure we could _play nicely _together, don't you?" There's that blush that you like, when she see's my smile, she punches me in the arm, "ass" she says, but I saw the smile that graced her lips.

"Now the third is getting a house. I completely agree. I only got the condo because it was just me and I think as a family a house would be the best bet. We can start looking at houses right away, if you wanted. Or if we don't find anything we like we can always have something built and please remember that you agreed to me paying for the mortgage so, price doesn't matter, Bella. Tell me what your dream house would look like?"

We spent the next 20 minutes with her telling me what she wanted in a house. Her most passionate with the kitchen with state of the art everything, granite countertops and a center island. She wanted at least a garden tube in the master bathroom to take bubble baths in. I'll admit that my mind imagined us together in that bath. She wanted an office for work and for Ethan to have a boy's area for games both video and not. The biggest thing was space; she wanted a lot of yard space for Ethan so he could run around and just have fun. I wanted the same thing and told her so. We grabbed her laptop and looked up houses for sale. We managed to narrow them down to three one in Seattle and two in Bellevue. Now, we just had to talk to Ethan, I scheduled an appointment to view these houses tomorrow, so hopefully can all go and look tomorrow.

"Well, I guess I'll go ahead and go, I'll be back early tomorrow, so we can talk to Ethan and look at some of the houses." I made to get up when I felt Bella's hand on my leg.

"Why don't you just stay? If we're going to move in together Ethan might as well get use to us sleeping together." I quirked an eyebrow at Bella, I knew what she meant but I couldn't help it, she was so easy to mess with.

"You know what I mean you perv. But hey, you want to act like that you can just sleep on the couch like usual."

Pushing me back, she jumped up off the couch and started walking towards her room, I grabbed her just as she got up, pulling me back down into my lap.

"Where did you think you were going?"

I brought my lips to hers, giving her a searing kiss, as I moved her so that she was straddling me. putting my hands on her ass, she ground her heat onto my throbbing cock. groaning slightly I went to push her further onto me. Giving me one more quick kiss, she broke the hold I had on her and jumped back up.

"Have fun on the couch!"

I refused to sleep on that couch another night, so I jumped up, caught up with her and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind. She squealed as I picked her up and went into her room, shutting the door with my foot. Lightly throwing her on the bed, she turned over onto her back, that's when I pounced.

"That was not very nice little girl. I might just have to make you pay for that." With that, I put my mouth on hers kissing her without mercy. Her hands wasted no time finding my hair, her fingers twining between the locks and tugging slightly making me moan. Meanwhile, my hands were trailing down her side to find the end of her shirt. Finding it, I push my hands just under the hem, giving her a moment to tell me to stop. I knew we couldn't do much with Ethan down the hall, but that didn't mean, I couldn't give my girl a little release. No hearing anything from Bella to stop me, I lifted her shirt up and off of her. Pulling the cup of her bra down I wasted no time in attaching my lips to her breast.

I had always considered myself and 'ass' man, but damn, Bella's breasts' have converted me. They fit just right into the palm of my hand, and are so firm and round; I could spend hours just on her breasts. While my mouth was busy with the right one, my hand went to the left so it wasn't feeling neglected. Meanwhile, Bella was working on relieving me of my shirt, once she had gotten as far as her and could reach, I reluctantly sat up to remove it the rest of the way, while Bella worked to remove her bra. Not one to miss an opportunity, I started to undo the button on her pants, this had her pause, wanted to reassure her, I said;

"I don't plan on making love to you tonight. I want our first time to be special and I want to be able to take our time, not having to worry if our son is going to burst in on us at any second. I just want to make you feel good, ok?" She nodded, and I continued undoing and removing her jeans and then her underwear. We had never messed around with this much clothing removed before, and my poor cock was going to have permanent zipper lines on it from how hard it was just seeing Bella naked spread out before me. Kissing her stomach, I made my way south. Kissing a trail to her bellybutton, I went right, to her hip nipping as I went before trailing over to the other one, I knew I was teasing her, but it was all about building her pleasure. I kissed my way back to her naval before going down to the tops of the soft curls covering her pussy. I used my finger first, swirling it around in her wetness, dipping into her heat then going back up to her clit, rubbing softly. She smelled so sweet that I couldn't hold off any longer, removing my finger I heard her groan as she pushed her hips up to find my finger again, instead, she met my tongue. I gave one slow lick from bottom to top, running over her clit giving it a few swipes before sucking it into my mouth, flicking it with my tongue as I did. Bella had grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed and had it over her face, beneath it I could hear her moans of pleasure, deciding to step it up a bit, I added two fingers to the mix, pushing them up into her, trying to find that spongy little pleasure center, finding it, I lightly rubbed it while continuing to tease her clit with my tongue. Bella's moaning turning into near screaming coupled with a "Fuck" and an "oh fuck" every now and then. I could tell that she was close, her pussy was clamping down on my fingers like a vice this only made me think about how it'd be when we made love for the first time, that thought alone almost made me jizz my pants. I sped up my ministrations slightly knowing she was so close, she started bucking her hips up into me, so I moved faster, sucking her clit into my mouth again was all it took for her to explode into passion, sending her essence into my mouth which I lapped up happily. Removing my fingers, I kissed a slow trail back up to her mouth, when I got there, I hesitated slightly, not knowing whether or not she wanted me to kiss her after having been down there, but she surprised me back grabbing hold of my neck, pulling me down to her and kissing me hard, trusting her tongue into my mouth. Knowing that she tasted herself on me only served to make me harder, which at this point was slightly painful. Trying to be the gentleman I knew my mother raised I moved my lower half away from her, so she wouldn't know just how hard this was for me of course she knew instantly and wanted to help. "It's the least I could do after what you just did for me." She pushed me back onto the bed and started to undo my jeans. I grabbed at her hands to stop her, and I swear I could hear my cock groan in frustration.

"Bella, baby I did that because I wanted to, not because I was expecting anything in return." She smiled at me, removing her hands from mine.

"I want to, please? Let me make you feel as good as you make me feel." That was all the agreement I needed. She slowly undid the zipper on my jeans. Taking care not to hurt me, I was going to commando after all. She pushed my jeans down, before pulling them all the way off. Situating herself between my legs, she grasped my cock firmly, but softly in her small hand. Giving it a few pumps she lowered her head and licked the head. It was like sending a jolt of electricity directly through me, making me jump slightly. Bella stopped looking up at me, concerned.

"Did I hurt you?" No, she most certainly didn't hurt me.

"Not at all, It just felt so good, and it's been a while." She nodded and went back to what she was doing. She licked around the head for a bit before taking me into her mouth. Heaven is the only word I could use to describe it. She used her hand for what she couldn't fit into her mouth and slowly she began to move her mouth up and down on my cock, using her tongue to drive me further insane, I was close already and this was just making my impending orgasm come sooner, pun intended! Just like Bella, I grabbed a pillow, to muffle my moans of pleasure. She sped up then taking a little bit more into her mouth with each downward thrust, till I felt my cock hit the back of her throat. Damn, my girl could deep throat. It was taking every ounce of self-control I had to not thrust up into her mouth. She started moving her head faster and hallowing out her cheeks as she went, I felt it, and I need her to move or I was going to come in her mouth.

"Bella, baby move I'm going to come." She didn't though, she hummed slightly and that threw me over the edge and came harder than I ever had. My breathing labored and my heart going a mile a minute, I barely noticed Bella make her way back up to me a smirk on her face.

"How was that?"

Trying to clear the fog from my head, I said, "I think you're trying to kill me woman. That being said, that was the best blow job I think I've had."

We pulled the covers up over our still naked bodies and drifted into a content sleep.

Next morning we woke up early, to ensure we were decent before Ethan woke up. Bella went to get breakfast started while I hopped in the shower. After getting done I got out, dressing in clothes that I had left over here at some point. Reemerging in the kitchen I noticed Ethan at the table eating his pancakes. He didn't look like he expected anything but with him you just never knew. Sitting down Bella sat a plate in front of me then set hers down before sitting next to me. Looking at her I she nodded, so I took that as my cue to start the conversation.

"Ethan, your mom and I have something we want to discuss with you. I was hoping you could let us talk then when we're done you can ask questions and we'll try to answer them, ok?"

He put his fork down and looked at us expectantly, so I continued.

"Your mom and I discussed last night and we think that it'd be a good idea if we all lived together, we'd get a house together, one that we all pick out that way we can all be together and I don't have to go home at night. What do you think?" I knew I was slightly rambling but Ethan's opinion was most important to me, this would never work if he didn't agree to it. I know that's putting a lot of trust in a 9 year old but, it's his life too.

"Well, I don't know dad, will you and mom be together, and does this mean you're getting married now? What are your intentions with my mother?" I gulped. I don't know how it was impossible to feel intimidated by a nine year old but at that moment I was scared shitless.

"Well, your mom and I are together yes, but as of right now there aren't any marriage plans, that's not to say though that one day there won't be any just, not right now, ok?" I hope this placates him for now. I saw marriage with Bella defiantly, but we still had much to learn about each other. I looked over to Bella and I'm sure we were wearing matching expressions. I grabbed her hand which had been white-knuckling the table, and looked back over at our son. He noticed the gesture, but continued on with his questioning.

"I have one more question for you." His face hadn't lost that hard look he'd had since the beginning and I was starting to worry now.

"Can we have a pool?" His face lost the hard demeanor instantly and then he broke out into giggles.

"Oh my god, you should have seen your faces! That was payback for kissing in front of me the other night!" He was messing with us? Oh that is it! I grabbed him and threw him over my shoulder walking into the living room where I tossed him onto the couch before ticking him until his face turned red.

"OK, OK uncle I'm sorry! Dad! If you don't stop I'm going to pee all over you!" That got me to stop immediately.

"Just kidding!" He tackled me and started tickling me right back. We wrestled around on the living room floor like this for a while before we heard a throat clearing.

"If you two are done acting like heathens, could you please come back in and finish your breakfasts, we have that appointment to look at houses in a few hours." I could tell she wasn't really mad about us leaving the table; the smile on her face gave it away.

Sitting back down at the table, I took a second, looking at Bella and Ethan, wondering how I had gotten so lucky, to not only has an amazing girlfriend but a son as well. I couldn't wait for our lives together to begin.


	14. MultiColored House & Orgasmic Basement

**A/N: Now beta'd!**

EPOV

House hunting in a word: exhausting. We'd walked through at least a dozen and nothing seemed to match what we wanted. One house even looked like a giant Barbie Dream home. We had two more houses to look at, and if we didn't find what we were looking for in one of them, we decided we were going to build one. Glancing down at my watch I noted the time and closed up the file I was taking notes on. After shutting everything away in the filing cabinet, I grabbed my jacket and headed out.

Twenty minutes later, I headed up the driveway of house number thirteen and - to be honest - it didn't look promising. The structure itself wasn't bad. No, what was bad was the fact that the outside was painted at least four different colors ranging from orange to teal. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for being creative, but come on people, if you're trying to sell a house at least paint it back to a neutral color. As I got closer to the house, I spotted Bella and Ethan talking to our realtor. Even from a distance, I could see the crease between her brows and knew she was thinking the same thing as me about the color. Walking up to them I wrapped an arm around Bella and quickly ruffled my fingers through Ethan's hair in greeting before shaking Tanya, the realtor's, hand. "So, what do you think of the house? Isn't it just fabulous! I think this could be what you're looking for. I know the color is a little off the charts but that's just paint. Let's have a look inside, ok?"

Not really waiting for a response, she ushered us inside. It was…different.

It had an open plan like we wanted but...I don't know...something seemed off. Maybe I was still hung up on the color of the exterior, but the place just didn't have that ' homey' feeling to it. One quick look at Bella and I knew what she was thinking. I didn't even have to ask; her eyes said everything.

"Let's look at the other one?" I asked without further comment. Tanya let out a quick breath, nodded and followed us out. Our final property was located on Mercer Island. It had eight bedrooms and eight baths. Normally I wouldn't have even considered looking at something that big, however it was a foreclosure, which meant that we could take possession immediately. On top of that, the price for it was practically indecent. I was hoping that it was the one that we'd been looking for because the timeline was ideal for us, moving wise. Hopping on the I-90 we were there in 30 minutes. With Tanya leading and Bella following behind me, we started down the long drive. It was tree-lined and had what looked like pine and palm trees with floodlights throughout. When we pulled up to the house my jaw dropped. It was a stone structure that looked more like a compound than a house, but at the same time wasn't imposing or looming. It was grand yet charming. In the middle was a 4-car garage and to the left what appeared to be the main entrance with a covered carport. It was two stories...three if you included the basement.

I got out of my car and turned to see Bella getting out of hers. Her eyes never left the house and her jaw was steadily getting closer to the ground. Walking over to her, I touched my index finger to the bottom of her chin and pushed up, closing her mouth. That seemed to snap her out of it. As she finally looked over to me, I could tell she was at war with herself - over what I didn't know.

"Edward Anthony, how in the hell is this even in our price range? It's like flipping huge! What do you intend to do with all this extra space...collect all of Seattle's homeless and move them in? I know we brushed on the subject of more kids but there's no…I don't even…." She was slowly growing redder and redder until she started turning a purple color. Grabbing hold of her I attempted to calm her down. I glanced over at Ethan, but he was riveted to one spot, his head moving back and forth trying to take it all in.

Turning my attention back to Bella, I spoke quietly. "Calm down, ok. I know this place looks huge, but I'm getting an excellent deal on it because it's a foreclosure. The bank wants it sold ASAP and we can move in right away. It meets all our criteria plus has a little extra. Just come and take a look with me. I've seen some of the online pictures for this place and what I've seen I like and I think you'll love it too." I hit her with the pout, the one I knew she could never resist. Slumping a little in my arms, she agreed to give it a look**. ****Letting one arm drop to her side I do the same with mine but keep one arm around her, we started making our way towards the front door.** I grabbed Ethan on the way since he seemed to be lost in his head, no doubt already planning various adventures for the house in front of him. Tanya was already holding the door open for us by the time we reached the main entrance. We walked in and I immediately felt at home which was surprising to me. Looking at the outside I'd expected something that seemed stuffy, pretentious, and snobby – but it was none of those things. I had no doubt that if we decided on this place Bella would have no trouble making it a home. We walked further in and Bella immediately gravitated toward the kitchen. It was huge. You could easily fit three of Bella's kitchen in there...and that was an understatement. The counters were all granite, a light brown and white with a rectangular center island with chairs. But what caught Bella's attention were the windows. At least I think they were windows. She pushed on one and it popped out and then she kept going till they were all pushed towards one end, kind of like the blinds you have on a patio door. She looked at me and I could see it in her eyes...she wanted this. She'd ventured no further than the kitchen and already she was in love with the house. I didn't say anything; it would ultimately be up to Bella whether we would buy it or not and I didn't want to push.

Tanya chose that moment to come in and start rattling off facts about the place. "So, I see you found the kitchen. Isn't it amazing? It's every chef's dream! And I've heard that the cross breeze you can get while working in here with the window's open like that is just fabulous! If you follow me, you'll see that just outside there's a pool, hot tub and outdoor entertaining space. A little further down is the dock too." It had gotten darker outside since we had come in, but after Tanya disappeared for a few seconds, the entire back yard lit up all at once. The pool had those lights in it that changed colors - the hot tub too - and the rest of the yard had light dispersed throughout - enough so that you could see, but not so much that it was blinding.

"As you can see, the pool faces the water. The lighting out here is all on a dimmer switch so you can adjust it to the occasion. There's also separate lighting out to the dock and mooring. Looking back at the house, the living room has nana doors on the wall facing this way so you can come and go from there or from the kitchen. The living space out here has a fire place and is spacious enough to hold more than enough seating for any kind of entertaining."

Tanya kept naming off things but at that point I started tuning her out and instead focused on Bella and her expressions. Unable to control myself any longer, I made my way over to her and wrapped my arms around her middle.

"So, just based off of the little bit we've seen, what do you think? Is it too big? Too much? Not what you want? Just say the word and we'll keep looking or draw up plans of our own." She drew in a breath and looked around once more.

"It's amazing. It so much more than what I've ever dreamed of - even for Ethan! This place is completely over the top, but at the same time I can see us here. I can see us having pool parties for Ethan and his friends. And _that kitchen_! I swear I could live in there if I thought you'd let me. But this isn't just about me. Let's go find Ethan and see what he thinks ok? I can't be the only one to make this decision. So while we go see where our child ran off to, what do _you_ think?"

We walked back in the kitchen and went through the living room. There was a door that led to stairs that seemed to descend to the basement, and we figured we'd look there first. Walking down the stairs, I started telling her about everything I liked, the multi car garage and the dock and mooring as well as how open it all looked but as soon as I stepped foot in that basement, all that went out the window. It was the man cave of man caves down here. There were three 52'' plasma flat screens along the back wall, one above the fireplace and then one on each side. Looking around I noticed speakers in each corner of the room...surround sound. One corner held games, like a fooze ball table, a pinball machine and an air hockey table. There was a bar set up in the back corner. Walking over to it, I noticed a popcorn machine and an ice cream machine as well as several expensive bottles of various adult beverages. Looking up at Bella I saw her looking back at me with a smirk on her face.

"Everything I said before about the house that I liked? Well that is all shit compared to here. I want this basement!"


	15. Moving In and Our First Time Take: Two

**A/N: Here's the Beta'd version of this chapter! Hopefully it reads better now! Just a quick shout out to all my new readers, and as always i'm blown away by the reviews this story is getting, glad everyone's enjoying!**

**- Jenny**

BPOV

It had been three weeks since we first saw the house, and I use the term "house" loosely. This monstrosity that we now reside in is fucking huge. All the furniture in the here came with it, so after we closed on the place we needed to decide what stayed and what went to charity. The majority of the stuff in here was brand-new, all the patio furniture along with electronics stayed. Without needing to think about it, we got rid of beds and any items of a personal nature. Not to say there was anything wrong with them, but honestly we didn't know what happened on or in those things beforehand - and we didn't want to know either.

Edward insisted that any furniture we needed we'd buy new instead of bringing in our old stuff. I had a problem with this. I didn't understand why we needed to get all new stuff when what we had was perfectly fine. Apparently, it's what you do when you buy a new house; you get new things to fill it. It's also so everything matches. While Edward was droning on and on about it all I looked down at Ethan who just shrugged. Growing up with Renee and moving around as much as we did, we never had furniture that matched, we had to go buy what we could afford and it was the same when I moved Ethan and myself into our own place. That's the biggest difference between Edward and me; he'd grown up with money all his life and that's what he was used to. So, in the end I relented knowing it would make him happy. I got him in the end though, I was adamant about painting and decorating myself. I worked from home mostly so it'd give me something to do and I'd feel like I was contributing in some way by doing this.

We started with the basement, letting Ethan pick the color. He decided on a dark blue, stating that it was his and his dad's man cave and blue was a 'manly' color. We decided to keep everything the basement already had in it; the only request I made was that any of the alcohol be locked in a cabinet under the bar. I trusted my son completely, but he's getting older and peer pressure is a very dangerous thing - not to mention natural curiosity. Keeping him from temptation is just being a good parent. I could already tell getting him out of this part of the house was going to be an issue and rules were going to have to be put in place. For both Dad and son, I'm sure.

Edward's and my bedroom was done second; the walls were painted a golden color, which went nicely with the light colored hardwood flooring. In the middle of the room was our bed. Edward talked me into a Sleep Number. All it took was lying down once on that thing and I never wanted to get up. The frame itself was in a sleigh shape made of dark wood. Our en-suite bathroom was about half the size of the bedroom with a separate shower and Jacuzzi tub. There was also a vanity that ran the back half of the room and a private balcony. We decided on light and airy for the space, covering all paintable walls with neutral beige, which played off the different colors in the rich marble flooring. The shower was glass and marble and could probably hold up to 6 people in it at a time. One day while painting in there, Edward had pulled me inside to demonstrate one of the many things he could do to me while in a shower that big...

Not that I was complaining...

Third was Ethan's room. Letting him deciding on how he wanted his room was a lot harder than I had thought, mainly because he changed his mind almost hourly about what he wanted. First he wanted blue walls, and then decided against that because we'd already painted the "man cave" that color. Then he thought about a dark purple but dismissed that because a friend at school said purple - no matter how dark - was girly. So finally he chose forest green. We upgraded him to a queen size bed since we all thought that the twin size that he'd had back in the apartment would look funny in the much larger room. At least this way he has room to grow in it. Ethan's bedroom also had an en-suite bathroom that I did in lighthouses. But my favorite part of Ethan's room was the collection of model airplanes hanging from his ceiling. He and Edward had been doing one a week. They had decided that they'd set aside some part of their day to have 'male bonding time' and that's what they'd been working on. Edward explained that he did something like this with Carlisle when he was Ethan's age and he thought it'd be a good tradition to pass down.

So, here it is, three weeks later and I'm still reeling from last night's events. The last wall had been painted and the last box unpacked. Alice and Jasper had all been a godsend along with all of the Cullens, including Esme. She had come over one weekday - while I was by myself of course. I guess you could say we buried the hatchet. We'd both ranted and raved, she'd ranted some more, tears were shed and - in true woman form - by the time she left we were hugging and laughing with one another. Which leads me back to last night. Esme had picked Ethan up from school so that Edward and I could have the house to our selves for the night, only Edward didn't know that the house was already finished. He thought he was meeting me to do some last minute painting.

Checking the timer, I noticed that dinner still needed 15 more minutes in the oven; plenty of time for me to go freshen up and slip a little something on that I had bought for our night together. I had big plans for us...all new houses need to be broken in and I was hoping tonight that we could finally have our do over. I wanted to actually _remember_ making love to Edward this time around.

Slipping into the bathroom, I slid my clothes off, and I do mean everything. I ran a wash cloth over my body to get the day washed off, slipped on the floor-length blue nighty, fluffed my hair with a brush, did a quick once over in the mirror then scooted back down stairs just as the timer went off. I was having honey glazed chicken for dinner with rice and a light salad on the side, but I hadn't prepared any dessert seeing as I planned on being the after dinner treat!

_God, when had I turned into a shameless hussy! _

_Well, your boyfriend is incredibly sexy, that might have something to do with it, maybe?_

I plated everything up, and set it at the two place settings on the table. Lighting the two tapers I had set on the table earlier, I waited for Edward to show up. Not even five minutes later I heard the door opening and him calling my name.

"In the dining room." I replied, all of a sudden nervous. I had spent all day planning this and now that it was here, I was starting to freak out. Taking a calming breath, I looked up to see Edward standing just outside of the dining room, frozen. I walked up to him, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"Um, surprise? I got the house finished this morning, and I wanted our first night here to be special, so Ethan's at your parents' place and I made us dinner, I hope that's ok, I know you've had a long day and I just…" I was stopped mid-ramble by his lips. In what seemed like a single second, he had me pressed up against the wall, running his hands over my body.

"This is one of the greatest surprises I've ever had. I think I like the image of coming home to you dressed in something so amazing. You have no idea what this color on you does to me." To emphasize his point he ground his hips into me, making me moan at the delicious friction it was causing. We continued like this for a few minutes before Edward broke away slightly, still keeping our bodies pressed together at the hip.

"I know you cooked us dinner, but right now all I can think about is getting you upstairs and making love to you. Please tell me I can." His eyes bored into my own. Overcome by the emotion, I could only nod, and a second later I was in his arms, bridal style, on our way up to our bedroom. He sat me down on the ground when we got there. I didn't even have time to fidget or feel awkward because I felt Edwards hands around my knees pulling the fabric of my nightgown up. When he got to around my hips, he paused.

"No panties? Isabella, what were you hoping for tonight?"

I knew he was teasing me but it only made me blush harder...not to mention that when he said my first name it only made me want him more. He moved his hands again until I was standing there stark naked in front of a fully clothed Edward. Something really needed to be done about that.

"You sir, have far too many clothes on."

I started with his shirt, undoing the buttons one at a time; incredibly difficult as it was since Edward's hands were doing some exploring of their own. Getting his shirt off I moved on to his pants, fumbling with the belt, then finally getting to the buttons and zipper. I finally got everything undone and with one tug I got his pants as well as boxers off in one go. I had seen him naked numerous times before, but his body never ceased to amaze me. Not to mention the man was packing! I'd been worrying for a while about how that monster was going to fit inside me. Now that we were both naked, Edward pulled the covers back and then helped me in, climbing in after me. His body covered mine as we picked up where we'd left off moments before. His mouth made kisses along my jaw working its way south, before going back up again. I could feel his hardness pressed against my hip and I wanted to be an active participant in this so I grasped him and slowly started to pump up and down. He groaned against me, moving his hips slightly in rhythm with my hand.

"Baby, if you keep that up I won't last much longer...I want you so bad right now... please say I can have you?" I couldn't help but smile. My Edward, ever the gentleman, always asking my permission...

"Make me yours Edward." He lined himself up, preparing to push in, but holding himself back. He looked up into my eyes, our noses barely touching each other. Giving me a quick Eskimo kiss, he said:

"I love you Bella. You've given me everything I could ask for in life that I didn't even know I wanted. You don't have to say it back, I just wanted you to know before we took this step that I don't take it lightly and I…" I cut him off with my mouth, planting a searing kiss on his lips.

"Edward Cullen, you are the most amazing man ever. I couldn't ask for anyone better. Never did I think we'd be where we are now, raising our son together, living together and in love. I'm so in love with you. You've become everything to me in these past few months...I can't imagine having to live without you." His lips claimed mine in a tender kiss but suddenly broke away. "Say it. I want to hear it again."

Taking his face in my hands, I spoke softly but with complete confidence. "I love you, Edward. I love you."

Pulling me to him as much as he could, he made us one. It was sweet and loving and everything I could have ever hoped our second first time would be. Edward was so tender and sweet, taking care of me before himself. I had tears in my eyes as we came together.

Waking up the next morning we decided on a bath together, not wanting to give up the close intimate bubble we were currently ensconced in. What started as an innocent soak in the tub turned into a water flinging, passion filled hour, only when the water turned cold did we feel the need to disconnect and get out. Still connected, only by hand holding, we made our way downstairs to clean up dinner from last night.

"I'd say I'm sorry we didn't get to eat what I'm sure was a delicious dinner, but I'm not. I rather preferred what we did to eating." I blushed and looked up to see Edward staring at me, his eyes dark, no doubt remember the many ways last night was more fun than eating. Actually, he looked like he was about to eat me right then and there. Glancing up at the clock, I noted it was already past 10 and we were due at his parents' for brunch and to pick Ethan up in a little less than an hour. Grabbing the last of the plates in my hand I walked over toward him.

"Stow it there, Tiger. We've got to be at your parents' by 11:30 for brunch and to get our son. Otherwise, we'd be christening this table and my fuckawesome kitchen." He let out a moan as I smirked at him and then walked into the kitchen, letting the door swing shut behind me. As I was loading the plates into the dishwasher, I felt hands on my hips and a very hard something pressing into my ass. It took everything I had to suppress a shiver as I felt his warm breath caress my ear; he spoke in a low husky voice that I swear could make me come just from the sound of it alone.

"You should know better than to say that shit to me. What ever will I do with you? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were teasing me, Isabella. I can tease too, you know." His right hand left a fiery trail down my leg, before coming up and resting on my covered core. He started slow lazy circles; only lightly applying pressure and quickly making me go crazy with need. I bucked up into his hand only to have him stop.

"What do you want baby? Tell me." He whispered as he nibbled on my ear lobe.

"More. I need more." I was slowing turning into a quivering mass of need, and if I didn't get release soon, I feared I would go insane.

"Are you sure? Don't we need to leave soon?" His tone was playful, but even as he was saying it, his hand had started working on the button of my jeans.

"Fuck it, we won't be that late."

We showed up to Carlisle and Esme's forty-five minutes late, with matching grins and halfhearted apologies. They knew what we had been up to but were gracious enough not to mention it, thankfully.

Now that the tension had cleared up between Esme and me, I found that I truly enjoyed their company. They were both highly intelligent people who, despite their money, were more down to earth then anyone I had ever met. I could tell that they loved Ethan as much as Edward and I do and would do just about anything for that child. He wouldn't even have to ask for it. I still can't help feeling guilty for not telling them sooner, and although Edward often tells me that it's in the past and all we can do is look forward to the future, I can't help but wonder if there isn't still a small part of him that resents me for it. I know I should move past it, but I don't think I ever will. It's my burden to carry alone and something that I'll just have to deal with as it comes.

EPOV

We arrived back at the house around two; I had to still take a final walk through to see the finished product. We had made three of the six remaining bedrooms guest rooms with the last three bare. We hadn't really talked about those last three rooms, but I know what I want to do with them and I think Bella wants it too. The topic of children hasn't really come up, just in general terms, but I can see Ethan playing with a little sister with Bella's dark hair and curls and my eyes, or maybe even another boy that looks just like his momma. It's a topic I want to discuss in detail soon. We're not getting any younger and I'd like to still be able to run around with my kids and play without having to worry about arthritis.

All three of us walked around the house, looking at everything Bella had accomplished over the past few weeks. It was amazing! She had done exactly what I thought she'd do. She made this place a home, although I'm sure it had more to do with her actual presence then materialistic things she added to the place. After checking everything out, Ethan ran down to the man cave leaving Bella and myself in the section of empty bedrooms. I walked over to the closest and opened the door. The room had a bay window making everything bright and cheery looking; the room itself was painted a soft yellow with soft white carpet. I leaned against the doorframe just imagining the room filled with a crib to one side and a rocker in the opposite corner, Bella sitting in it as she nursed our child. I never realized how badly I wanted to experience that with her. I must have been there a while because Bella came up next to me and put her arm around my waist and snuggled into me.

"I see it too, you know. This would make the perfect nursery. The question is, when and how many do you want?" She looked up at me with a smile, expecting an answer.

"I'll take however many you'll give me. As to when, I don't think I want to wait too long. I'd prefer us to be married, but if it happens before then that's ok too. I love you and I'll be ready when you're ready to take that step with me." I leaned down placing a soft kiss against her lips. Looking up into her eyes, I noticed tears forming there. Knowing they're happy tears, I kissed them away as they fall and held on to her tighter. I couldn't believe how my life had turned out since I moved back home and I know it's only going to get better from here.


	16. Living Life

**A/N: OMG I am so sorry guys! I didn't intend to take this long to post, RL got in the way MAJORLY and well, now i'm back I promise, i'll start updating again. I will tell you that this story is probably winding down now, I can't say how many chapters are left exactly because honestly, I don't really know. So without further ado...**

BPOV

Things settled in for Edward, Ethan and I. Ethan had to start a new school since we were in a whole new school district, he has been adapting well and had by the end of the first day made quite a few new friends and according to Edward, a few of the female variety. Apparently, he was a little casanova. Being a mom, it wasn't something I wanted to think about but Edward was more than encouraging, I had to live with him that wee,k smirking, and more than one, "that's my boy." I just rolled my eyes. Men.

Today, I'm meeting Alice for lunch at this little café we frequent. We haven't had much time to spend together lately, with her job and with me moving further away, the little time we had together to begin with, strained even further. Pulling into a parking spot I got out and made my way inside, Alice called me when she got there and had gotten our usual table in the back. The moment I got to the table I was accosted by the little pixie.

"Oh my god, Bella! I've missed you! We can't go this long again without seeing each other! You look so good, you're practically glowing! OMG! You guys totally did it didn't you! I'm so happy for you; you have to tell me everything!"

Good lord, this woman was like a squirrel on crack! By the time she shut up, I was fire engine red from all the attention she was drawing to us, not to mention the fact that she shouted to the whole place that I had, in fact, had sex.

"Alice, please can we not share this with the whole restaurant? I will tell you about it, but we will be using our inside voices, ok?"

She stepped back from me with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Of course, sorry Bella, I just got over excited when I saw you. I've missed you chick."

I gave her a smile and a wink to let her know I wasn't mad at her and we took our seats. Not needing to look at a menu, we called our waiter over and ordered our usual. Not even fifteen seconds after he left did Alice start in on the questions.

"So, how was it?"

I sighed, it was best just to answer her questions and get it out of the way now.

"It was great. He was so careful with me and loving. He told me he loved me too." I grinned remember that night with great clarity. The look on Edwards face as he said those three little words to me will forever been burned into my mind.

"How sweet is that? You guys are so meant to be. It's like fate or something! I'm so happy for you and Edward. He's really great at being a dad isn't he? It's like he has no issues at all about it." Again I smiled.

"It's true Edward took to being a dad like he'd always been one. I had been thanking my lucky stars every day since that he's been so cool about everything. I could have all gone so differently. I wasn't ever expecting anything to happen between us, all I wanted out of telling him the truth was for Ethan to have his dad in his life. Sometimes I still wonder if it's all a dream. I mean, I lied to him for almost 10 years. He has every right to hate me and he doesn't. I don't understand it and I'd be stupid to question him on it but truthfully, I have to wonder why he didn't act angrier or why he didn't completely fly off the handle at me." It felt good to finally voice this to someone; it had been eating at me for a while.

"Sweets, why don't you ask him? If it's bothering you this much, then you need to get it all cleared up so you can move on."

I knew she was right, I just didn't know if I could bring myself to do it. We were so happy right now that I didn't want to bring any negativity into it. "I'm just afraid of rocking the boat any, I suppose. We've got everything going for us right now, we're happy, in love and our son has both his parents together under the same roof. I guess I'm afraid that if I do bring it up, it'll make him really thing about it, and then who knows? What if he decides that I'm not worth it?"

"He's already told you that he loves you. I really think you guys need to talk this out. You won't be able to move forward until everything is out in the open. I'll bet my Jimmy Choo collection that he doesn't even know that you are having these questions and doubts, does he?"

Looking down at my hands on the table, I shake my head.

"He doesn't know, and I think I've done a good job at hiding it too." I really feel guilty, the more I think about it, Edwards pretty much trusted me right off the bat, even when he had no reason to, and I'm still keeping things from him. I feel tears start to form but I quickly dispel them, no need to get all emotional over this, I need to put my big girl panties on and just talk to Edward about it.

"Your right Alice, I need to talk to him about it, I'll bring it up tonight after Ethan goes to bed." I nod bringing the subject to a close. Alice smiles at me but doesn't say anything, and like that, the topic is closed and she transitions into the next subject, the newest outfit she bought and the accessories to match. I roll my eyes but grin. I missed my friend, even her long winded talks about fashion.

After lunch, I head out to get some errands done, after a quick stop in the office to pick up another book to edit, I head to the grocery and then go to pick Ethan up from school. We get home, after helping me to put groceries away; he sits at the bar and starts on homework while I get dinner going. With the weather turning colder, I opted for stew tonight. Getting all the ingredients chopped up, I put it in the crock pot to cook. I look around for something to do, be it clean or straighten up, but I come up empty so I opt to sit at the bar with Ethan and work on the book, I'm supposed to be editing. Minutes go by and we work in a comfortable silence. I hear the quiet scratching of his pencil stop, then silence followed by him running the eraser over the table, followed by a thumping noise from him hitting it against the table's edge. It's a nervous tick, one that I myself have. Setting my red pen down, I look up at my son. He stops tapping, but doesn't let go of his pencil, choosing instead to twirl it around in his hands. He's nervous about something, obviously, hmm… My son doesn't squirm, ever. He's never been afraid to ask or tell me something, so this must be a good one. Clearing my throat to get his attention, I start.

"So, Ethan, how's school going?" He keeps the twirling up but responds,

"It's going good. I like my new teacher better than the last one."

I sigh; I can already tell this conversation is going to be like pulling teeth. Best just to cut right to the chase, I think.

"Ethan, why don't you tell me what's bothering you, so we can fix it. You've never had an issue before with telling me anything, so either this is something really big, or well, I can't think of any other reason you're not telling me. We've never kept secrets from each other before." His shoulders slum down a bit, so I know he feels guilty about not telling me, I need to fix this quick.

"It's ok, if you don't want to talk about it though, you just talk when you're ready, be it to me or your dad, ok?" He nods, I see that that's all I'm going to get out of him at the moment so I let it go and go back to my editing.

Edward arrives home around 5:30 surprising us all. Getting up, I place a quick kiss on Ethan's head as I move to greet Edward at the entrance to the kitchen. He grins and wraps his arms around my waist I place a quick kiss to his lips as I put my arms around his neck.

"I like getting kisses as soon as I walk in the door, a man could get used to that"

He lets go of one side of my waist, but still keeping me near as he moves past our son, ruffling his hair as he goes by, "Eth, behave yourself for a few minutes while I go change. After dinner tonight, it's you and me on Just Dance 2, I want a rematch!"

For the first time today, I see a genuine smile on my sons face, "Pffft, you can't beat me old man, you might as well just save your energy for something a little more your pace. You might break a hip trying to keep up with me." Ethan laughs maniacally as Edward lets go of me to go after him.

"Why you little brat, get back here!" They chase after each other, Edward finally catching up to him and gently tackling him outside in the back yard, tickling him mercilessly. After a few minutes they come back in both a little rumpled but with matching crooked grins on their faces.

"OK, you heathen, your mom and I'll be right back, stay out of trouble, ok?"

I grin as I walk with him up stairs; Edward always manages to put a smile on our faces.

I wanted to mention Ethan's behavior and see if he's noticed anything. Going into the massive walk in closet, Edward starts to undress, immediately I close the distance between us, and help him with the buttons on his shirt.

"Have you noticed anything different about how Ethan's been acting lately? He's seemed more closed off, normally he's happy and tells us about anything going on but, earlier today, he acted like he wanted to talk to me about something but when I asked him, he just got this look on his face, but didn't say anything. Has he said anything to you?" I look up at Edward and see a perplexed look on his face.

"No, I haven't really noticed anything, but he seemed fine a few minutes ago when I came in. Do you want me to ask him about it later?" I debated it, I told him that he could come to us when he was ready, and I didn't want to force him to talk before that.

"No, I told him he could talk to us when he's ready to. I don't want to push, but at the same time, I want to know what's wrong so I can fix it." Edward nods in understanding, but then lets the topic drop. He finishes changing and then we're on our way back downstairs.

Ethan's finished his homework and dinner's done, so we dish up and sit down to eat. We go over each other's days and once again, Ethan's quiet about his, giving short answers and not really divulging anything of value to the conversation. This leads me to believe that he has something going on at school. I glance at Edward and notice he's got the same worried look on his face that probably matches mine. We'd discuss it later after Ethan went to sleep. The boys take care of dishes since I made dinner, then we all adjourn to the basement to have some down time, the boys start off on their competition, Ethan once again beats Edward, but Edward beats me. I knew he would anyway, I've never been coordinated, just because I have a little remote in my hand doesn't correct that. Exhausted, we all decide to head to bed for the night. I wait on Ethan to shower and change before I head into his room to say goodnight. After he crawls into bed and gets comfortable, I sit on the edge,

"I know I said I'd give you time to talk to your dad and I, but I just wanted to let you know again that, you don't have to be afraid to talk to us, we're on your side no matter what, ok? We love you. Kissing his forehead, I make sure he's all tucked in before turning out the light, I'm about to close his door when I hear, his sweet little voice. "I love you guys too, mom." I smile as I shut his door.

I crawl into bed beside Edward after showering and changing. He's already changed and shirtless, propped up on the headboard with a book in hand. Leaning into him, he sets the book down and wraps his arms around me.

"I see what you mean about him being withdrawn, and I think it has something to do with school." I nod, knowing it's exactly what I was thinking.

"I agree but, there really isn't much we can do until he talks to us about it." I feel him nod against the side of my head, he starts placing feather light kisses along my temple, making his way down towards my jaw. I sigh, loving the feeling of his lips, but I know I can't allow this to go much further, I need to talk to him about how I'm feeling as well. Pulling back slightly, I turn so that I'm partially facing him. He's slightly pouting now, since I stopped his kisses.

"Is everything ok?"

I nod. "Yea, it's nothing huge, I've just had something on my mind that I wanted to talk to you about for a while now, and it's been kind of bugging me, I just didn't want to say anything though because we've been so happy lately I just don't know what kind of issue's this is going to bring up and I don't want anything to change between us, I love you and if I lost you I don't know what I'd do." I realize I'm rambling at this point, but I can't seem to stop so, Edward does it for me. Placing a finger on my lips, he looks me in the eye searching for something.

"Love, whatever it is, we'll get through it, I promise, just tell me what it is, you've got me worried."

Taking a deep breath I quickly gather my thoughts before starting.


End file.
